This is Where We Stand
by LyliLovexxxxx
Summary: The Dursley's decided not to keep Harry when his parents die and send him to Gateshead Orphanage. The LeStrange's have a daughter who is sent to the same orphanage when they are sent to prison. The two grow up as best friends, them against the world which becomes a bit of a problem when they go to Hogwarts and both have to join their own worlds.
1. Prologue

**A/n Hi this is my second Harry potter fanfiction although I promise not to abandon this one. the idea of this story is that Harry was sent to an orphanage by the Dursley's and the LeStrange's daughter is sent to the same one when her parents are sent to prison. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Prologue**

Petunia Dursley opened her front door that cold November morning to put the milk bottles out and found a baby on her doorstep.

Her first reaction was to simply stare and then look around suspiciously, until she noticed a letter addressed to her folded up in the baby's blankets. She pulled it out and opened it in one swift movement.

It read:

_Dear Mrs Dursley,_

_I regret to inform you that your younger sister, Lily Potter née Evans and her husband James Potter were killed late last night._

_They were murdered by the darkest wizard of our world, Lord Voldemort who was hunting down their son, Harry James Potter. Harry survived the attack because his mother died to save him which cast an ancient magic. Harry will always be protected so long as he resides with a blood relative of his mother. Therefore he must remain in your care until he is of age._

_Please take care of Harry and treat him as your own son, teach him about our world and protect him until he comes to Hogwarts._

_Yours sincerely,_

_Albus Dumbledore_

Petunia leant against the door frame and took a few deep breaths. Her sister was dead. Her sister was dead and all that was left of her was her freak son. She looked at the baby. It looked nothing like Lily, only like the stupid man she'd married.

She didn't want the freak living under her roof.

But it was all that was left of Lily.

Petunia read the letter again and made up her mind. She left a note for Vernon, grabbed the car keys grabbed the baby. She put it in Dudley's car seat and drove off to the nearest orphanage.

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><p>It had been 3 months since the fall of Lord Voldemort. Bellatrix sat in an arm chair in front of the fire in the drawing room and watched her husband pace back and forth.<p>

"There has to be somebody else! The Longbottom's are too high in the auror department. We'll be caught for sure" Bellatrix reasoned with Rodolphus.

"But they are most likely to know something! I thought you wanted to find him!" Rodolphus LeStrange stared at his wife with his piercing amber eyes. She stared right back.

"I do! More than anything! But there has to be other ways of finding the Dark Lord without risking ourselves! We have to think of Celeste!"

Rodolphus looked at the small girl curled up sound asleep in her mother's lap. He loved her more than anything in the world. But he was desperate.

"Please Bella, we'll be fine. And think of how we will be rewarded"

Bellatrix looked down at her daughter. She looked so peaceful. She never wanted to be away from her. But still, she too wanted to find her master. So she agreed.

* * *

><p>Two days later Celeste LeStrange watched her mother be carted off to prison with life sentence and Albus Dumbledore took her away to a Muggle orphanage leaving her with her real name and not knowing that Harry Potter had been dropped there three months earlier. So by unlikely chance, two children born into families that hated each other, grew up in the same house and became inseparable.<p>

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	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Harry Potter had lived at Gateshead Orphanage his whole life. He had been left there by his aunt at the age of one, and knew no other life.

Harry was a scrawny kid of 10, skinny, with knobbly knees, jet black hair that never laid flat, emerald green almond shaped eyes that were hidden behind round black glasses held together with sellotape.

Gateshead was not a bad place to live, they weren't treated badly, but children came and went all the time and Harry had always been shunned. He was a freak to the other children, unexplained and strange things happened around him. He only had one friend, a girl just as freaky as himself.

When he was five, an older girl had cut his hair one day saying it looked like he had a crow's nest on the top of his head, but by the next morning his hair had grown back exactly the same way.

When he was seven, he'd been running away from some school bullies when he suddenly found himself on the roof of the school kitchens. He'd tried to explain there was no possible way he could have gotten up there, he'd been all the way on the other side of the playground but they'd still called the orphanage and Harry had been on washing up duty for a month.

Finally when he was 9, they had been at the zoo on a school trip and Harry had had a conversation with a boa constrictor and trapped six kids in its pen, behind glass.

For these reasons, most of the kids stayed far away.

* * *

><p>Harry woke up on the 31st of July with a faint smile on his face. He was last to get up and be dressed in his room and no one waited for him but Harry didn't care. He was 11 years old. He wasn't expecting presents or cards or anyone to even remember it was his birthday but for a quiet moment the day seemed special.<p>

When he finally left his room, dressed in a green t-shirt and old jeans, he headed down to the dining room and grabbed himself a bowl of Frosties and sat down at a table by himself.

He remained undisturbed all through breakfast and as he was putting his dishes away, Emma, one of the workers came up and handed him a letter.

"Happy Birthday Harry, this arrived for you this morning, only I don't think its a birthday card." She said before walking off.

Harry turned the letter over in his hands. It was made of parchment and sealed with a wax seal, which were very old fashioned ideas. It was addressed in emerald green ink to:

Mr Harry Potter  
>Boys Dormitory 3<br>Gateshead Hall Orphanage  
>Surry<p>

Harry had an uneasy feeling about the envelopes contents and climbed to the middle of the first flight of stairs in the entrance hall. It gave him a good view of who came and went and if you leaned over the bannister and looked up then you could see the tall square stair spiral.

He had been sitting there for about five minutes, before he heard footsteps coming down above him and suddenly a girl about 11 sat down next to him.

Celeste LeStrange was Harry's only friend and she was possibly stranger then he was.  
>She was a slim, pale girl with high cheekbones, heavily lidded amber eyes and long dark messy hair that was cut unevenly. She was dressed in a tattered black dress with a pair of beat up combat boots on her feet. Everything the orphans owned was second hand, but Celeste's was always extra worn.<p>

"Happy Birthday scar head" she said dropping an envelope and a four pack of mars bars in his lap.

Harry grinned and ripped the envelope open to see a handmade card with a photograph of the two of them on the front.

"Thanks psycho!" He said. He ripped open the packet and offered her one of the chocolate bars she took it and they munched in silence for a few minutes until Celeste noticed the letter in Harry's hand.

"What's that?" She asked snatching.

"I dunno, it came this morning, why?" Harry said opening a second Mars bar.

"Because I got one this morning as well" and she produced an identical one.

"What are they?" Harry asked and Celeste shrugged.

"Shall we open them?" she whispered and Harry nodded. They both removed the seal and were about to take the letters out when someone at the bottom of the stairs cleared their throat. They looked up to see Mrs Harris, the head of Gateshead Hall Orphanage standing there.

The two children rose to their feet and hid the letters behind their backs as Mrs Harris said "Celeste, Harry, there is someone here to see you" and then out of her office came the strangest looking man.

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	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2<span>**

Albus Dumbledore was very worried. And there wasn't much that could worry him. When Professor McGonagall had informed him that they still hadn't heard back from Harry Potter he had assumed his fears had come true and the Dursley's were not giving Harry his Hogwarts letters.

So he and Minerva took a trip to number 4 Privet Drive where a very angry Petunia Dursley informed them that she'd dropped the little brat off at Gateshead Orphanage the same day she'd found him before she slammed the door in their face.

"Gateshead! Are we sure she said Gateshead?" Albus asked with a deeply concerned look on his face.

"Yes, Why?" Minerva asked

"Because that's the orphanage where I left Celeste LeStrange after her parents went to Azkaban"

So the two teachers cast a tracking spell and found out that someone at Hogwarts had charmed the address to where Harry actually was, rather than where they thought he was and he had received a letter that morning with many other of the last minute students.

* * *

><p>They apperated and found themselves standing in front of an old grey building with the words Gateshead Orphanage written above the gate. They climbed the front steps and went into the entrance hall. They were met by a young woman with spaghetti on her shirt and a tired look on her face.<p>

"Can I help you?" she asked warily

"Yes, two of the children who live here have places at our school. We wish to speak to them" Albus said pleasantly with a twinkle in his eye.

"Ok, wait her, I'll go get Mrs Harris" she said and disappeared into an office to the right of the staircase that went up.

They stood there for a few minutes, looking at the photos of solemn faced orphans on the walls. Finally a woman in about her 50's came out of the office. She looked slightly flustered and her brown hair was falling out of its bun.

"Ahh, hello!" she said when she spotted the two professors. "I'm Mrs Harris, step into my office"

They followed her into a dark messy room with files everywhere, a full ashtray of the desk and two chairs that were barely visible in the sea of unfiled paperwork. Albus sat down looking quite content while Minerva wrinkled her nose in distaste.

"Right, so Emma tells me you have places at your school for two of my children" Mrs Harris said after settling herself behind the cluttered desk "Which two?"

"Harry Potter and Celeste LeStrange" Minerva said shortly

"Ah, ok. And how have they got them. I don't recall them applying for them. Or have they pulled another one on me?" she asked.

"This paper should explain everything. I am the Headmaster and this is my deputy" Albus handed Mrs Harris seemingly blank piece of piece of paper which she looked at before handing it back.

"Well that seems to be in order then" she said "Rather odd pair you've got there" Minerva and Albus glanced at each other "Still, I suppose you'll want to meet them" she stood up and made her way to the door. The two aged Professors followed, McGonagall hanging back a bit.

"Celeste, Harry, there is someone here to see you" Mrs Harris said.

Dumbledore came out of the office to see two children sitting on the stairs rising to their feet. They both had their hands behind their back and the boy was holding a half-eaten mars bar. They were both skinny and though they were both clearly clean there was something grubby about them. Harry looked a lot fiercer then Dumbledore expected but there was something about the girl that was truly shocking. She seemed wild and the demented look in her eye was duller and not nearly as obvious yet was clearly the same as the one he'd seen in her mother's eye.

* * *

><p>Celeste and Harry had never seen anyone as odd looking as this man. He was old, like really old, with long white hair and a beard tucked into his belt. He wore a bright purple suit that looked as though it had seen better days; his nose was crooked as if it had been broken several times but what was really strange about him, and what the children really didn't like was his eyes. They were bright blue and hidden behind half-moon spectacles and they seemed to twinkle.<p>

"Hello Harry, Celeste. My name is Professor Dumbledore, and I would like to talk to you about my school."

* * *

><p>"I don't believe you!"<p>

Albus Dumbledore had been a teacher for a whole century. He'd been on countless visits to introduce muggle-borns to the wizarding world and he had to say in all his time he had never struggled to convince a student they were magical quite so much. Both Celeste and Harry were both adamant that there was no such thing as magic. It didn't matter how many spells he showed them, they remained convinced it was trickery and refused to believe they were special.

"Why won't you just accept this?" Minerva asked "There has to have been incidents in your pasts that show you we're telling the truth"

"That doesn't matter" Harry shook his head "We live in an orphanage. If there was such thing as magic then our lives would be better"

The two teachers stayed silent until Dumbledore said "if you come to Hogwarts your lives will be better. I promise. I knew your parents. It's what they would have wanted"

This seemed to have the desired effect, because to Celeste's horror Harry's eyes misted over, and he nodded. She didn't say anything, only got up and stormed out of the room.

"I'll go get her" Harry said and followed her with a guilty feeling.

* * *

><p>He found her alone in her dormitory, lying on top of her duvet, clutching the stuffed dragon she'd had forever.<p>

"Hey" he said softly, sitting on the end of her bed

"Hi" she muttered, playing with the scales on her dragon's back.

"You know, this is real. We can say what we like but even I can't think of an excuse as to how he managed to set the desk on fire and leave it in perfect condition" Harry said "Besides, why would he want to lie to us"

Celeste only shrugged.

"What have you got against the idea anyway? We get to go to magic school. That sounds awesome"

Celeste sighed and sat up "It's not that… it's just… Well it's always been you and me against everyone else. We always said never trust anyone, fight for yourself if you wanna survive… all that crap that sounds super clichéd but still we've always gone bye. The fact you just trust him straight away, especially on something as farfetched as this… it just makes me feel like I'm on my own"

"Your never on your own Cel" Harry said "Nothings gonna change, it'll just be us doing it all in an awesome school rather than this orphanage. Besides maybe we'll meet others like us"

"I doubt it" she said with a small smile. Then she took a deep breath. "So… We're going to Hogwarts!"

Harry grinned.

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	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Harry and Celeste left the orphanage that warm August afternoon and took the tube to the place in London Dumbledore had told them to go to buy school supplies. They found themselves standing outside a shabby looking pub called the Leaky Cauldron. The people around them seemed to miss it, there eyes sliding from the shop on the right to the store on the left.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Celeste asked raising one eyebrow. "He said it was an Ally. This is a pub"

"This is the place. It says to go in and ask the bar tender to let us into the Ally" Harry shrugged looking at the sheet of parchment the Professor had given him.

They went inside to find it very full of odd people. Lots of them wore cloaks and pointed hats; several had odd skin complexions and hair in odd places. The two children gripped each-others hands in fright, shifting closer together as the door swung shut behind them and the place became quite dark.

"Why do they all look so weird?" Celeste whispered

"I don't know. You wait here, I'll go ask the bar guy how we get to the ally" Harry said before letting go of Celeste's hand and making his way through the crowds of people towards the bar.

Celeste balled up her fists by her sides. She was Celeste LeStrange and she wasn't scared of anything. Not even some creepy lot of magic people.

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><p>It took Harry a while for someone to notice him because there were so many people up by the bar. Finally there was a gap and Harry reached over and tugged on the bar tenders sleeve.<p>

"Excuse me, but could you tell me how-" Harry began but he was cut off by the bar tender staring and pointing at the lightning bolt scar in the middle of Harry's forehead. He'd had for as long as he could remember.

"Bless my soul!" he whispered "Its Harry Potter" he shouted and the entire bar went silent. Harry back up in alarm as two seconds later he was surrounded by people wanting to shake his hand.

"Welcome back Mr Potter!"

"It's such an honour to meet you!"

They all said things like this as they attacked him with pats on the back and shook his arm off. It was getting rather out of hand after about five minutes, and Harry looked like he was going to faint so Celeste tried to help.

"Excuse me!" she called. No one even looked her way.

"Hello!" she tried again a little louder. Again it did not have the desired effect.

"Stop it!" she screamed and no one batted an eyelid. By this point she'd really had enough and got up on the nearest table, took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs

"LISTEN TO ME!"

It came out about ten times louder than it should have and the entire bar turned to look at her in shock. Harry grinned from behind the person trying to shake his hand.

"Thank you!" Celeste said he you voice back to normal "Now I dunno why you lot are so obsessed with him, he's just a kid! We really need to by our school supplies, so could one of you please show us how to get into Diagon Ally!"

Everyone just stared at her. Then a few people began to mutter to each other. Celeste and Harry caught the words 'LeStrange',' Evil' and 'You Know Who' before the whole room was an uproar again. Celeste was about to give up when someone in a long black cloak and hood approached her and growled "Follow me!"

Celeste followed him out to the back, Harry a few steps behind. He pulled out his wand and tapped a few bricks on the wall. In a few moments they had moved to create an archway that revealed a long cobbled street full of people and shops.

"Thank you, sir!" Celeste said politely but the stranger simply disappeared into the pub without another word. The two kids looked at each other and shrugged.

"Where do we start?" Harry asked, looking around in wonder.

"The bank" Celeste pointed to the tall white marble building at the end of the street "Then I suggest we go down the list"

* * *

><p>Narcissa Malfoy wondered around Florish Blotts looking at the shelves randomly while her husband and son searched for school books. She moved down each aisle, looking at the other costumers, until her eyes fell on two children in the standard book of spells aisle. They were about Draco's age, clearly only just starting Hogwarts, a boy and a girl. The girl had here back to her, so Narcissa got a good look at his face. After a few minutes of studying his face, her sharp eyes fell on the scar hidden behind his untidy fringe and she realised this must be the famous Harry Potter. Narcissa took in his second hand clothes and how skinny he was and realised there wasn't much special about him.<p>

Then the Potter boy moved away to another aisle and the girl turned towards the shelf so Narcissa still couldn't see her face. She was about to lose interest and turn away when she realised the girl was trying to reach a book just out of her reach. Her fingers would brush the shelf it sat on when she stretched on her tiptoes before she lost her balance.

As Narcissa felt she ought to help the girl and hoped she could find out how she knew Harry Potter by talking to her, she went over and retrieved the book for her.

"Oh thank you!" the girl said taking it from her hand and turning around completely. That was when Narcissa recognised her. Because not only was it plainly obvious, but it was like a knife through her chest.

This girl was Bellatrix LeStrange.

Of course, this girl was obviously not Bellatrix, because Bellatrix was a grown woman, not eleven and she was in prison. Still she looked exactly her. Well, not exactly like her, Bella had violet eyes and this girl had amber eyes, like Rodolphus. Also, this girl was far scruffier then Bellatrix LeStrange would ever have been seen (and this was including Bella's eccentric hairstyles), and she wore Muggle clothes. As Narcissa looked closer she noticed something about her eyes. The same craziness that she had seen so often in her sister was in there, which was clear although it was not nearly as strong. There was more innocence and warmth in her eyes as well as something terrible she couldn't quite place. Loneliness and suspicion that Bellatrix had never had in her childhood. Of course there was only one way to check, and she had to be subtle.

"First year at Hogwarts?" she asked with a rare smile.

"Yes," the girl said shortly.

"Are you excited? I'm sure your parents have told you lots about it. Or do you come from a Muggle family?" she asked.

"Neither, I really should be going, my friend is waiting" Narcissa stopped her as she attempted and the girl gave her a very fierce glare. Oh yes, she was definatly Bellatrix's daughter.

"I only wondered. You look like someone I knew very well. Perhaps I know your parents? What's your name?" she asked gently.

The girl stared at her for a few moments. "I doubt you know my parents, I mean I don't. Still, I wasn't aware I was a witch until yesterday morning so maybe you do know them, but I'm not about to give a random stranger my name. My last name is LeStrange though, if you do know them. Now if you'll excuse me" She pushed past her and went off to find Harry.

* * *

><p>Narcissa headed back to where Lucius and Draco were waiting for her.<p>

"What is it my dear?" Lucius asked his wife when she noticed the strange glassy look in her eye. She seemingly snapped out her trance, gripped her husband's arm and whispered hoarsely "I found her Lucius, I found Celeste!"

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	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 4<span>**

Celeste was up bright and early on the morning of the 1st of September. She crept out of bed and slipped into her school skirt, shirt, and jumper and shoved her robe into her bag so she wouldn't look shabby at the station but she wouldn't look completely nutty to all the Muggles.

She looked at herself in the full length mirror that hung on the back of the door. She looked smart, and felt nothing like herself. Out from under her bed she pulled out the combat boots and slipped them over her tights. Better. Her hair was still messy, and she didn't want to do anything with it.

With her trunk packed and waiting for her down stairs, she looked around her dormitory at her sleeping girls. None of them had ever been nice to her, or close, but suddenly she felt like she was going to miss them all. Being in an orphanage was not brilliant, but Gateshead was all she'd ever known, and all of a sudden she, Celeste LeStrange who wasn't scared of anything, was truly terrified by the thought of leaving.

Careful not to wake anyone else, she slipped out of the dormitory and crept upstairs to the old playroom. It was a large room with faded blue walls and a yellow carpet that had glue and paint stuck in it for all eternity. Toys were carelessly tossed in the corners and tables littered with crayons and coloured paper stood on one side. This was where the younger kids played in their free time. The older kids had one too, with two billiard tables and a broken pinball machine that Celeste mainly avoided as the older, scarier kids hung out there. On the wall opposite the door was a balcony that over looked the street outside Gateshead. Celeste went out onto it now, leaning against the rusty railing and watching the early morning crowd rush by.

"Goodbye," she whispered with a small sigh "I'll be back next summer"

It was September but there was a cold wind that made Celeste shiver. She still wouldn't go inside though, knowing she'd have to find Harry, who was probably already looking for her.

Celeste didn't remember her parents. She sometimes dreamed about them. She would be curled up, warm and safe, in her mother's lap while her father paced in front of the fire. They spoke in soft voices, not too her and she could never hear what they were saying or see their faces. The only message she got from that was that they loved her.

She didn't remember losing them exactly, but she remembered coming to the orphanage. She had been carried through the door, half asleep by someone with long white hair and handed over Mrs Harris. Apparently, her parents weren't dead which was why she had kept their last name and the person had requested she be found a loving home as soon as possible. That had not really gone to plan, as every couple who came to adopt seemed to hate her, probably due to the fact she never smiled. She'd gotten older and although she caught on and tried to be sweet to the people who came, no one wanted her. Soon she gave up and decided she was going to have to fight for herself in this world. No one wanted her as a friend or a daughter and that was fine by her, because she didn't need anyone else.

Then she met Harry.

They were 6. He'd been at Gateshead longer than her but they'd never come across each other before. He'd also never been adopted and had similar views on life. Of course, neither had trusted the other at first, and both were still so young they still hoped they'd be adopted. Then they turned 7, were taken off the priorities list and moved up a set. That was when they gave up.

Celeste watched a tired looking mother cross the street with a screaming toddler on her hip and a little girl dragging her feet behind as she thought back to the day she'd officially become friends with Harry, out on that balcony.

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><p><em>She stood out on the balcony watching the school kids coming out of the tube station. It was February, but she wore a frayed red dress.<em>

_"Aren't you cold?" someone said and she spun around to see that boy. Harry Potter._

_"No" she answered stiffly, but the goose bumps along her bare arms and legs told another story._

_"I am its freezing. You're allowed to admit your cold" Harry said. Celeste said nothing and turned away to watch the street again. "Why don't you come inside?" _

_"I prefer it out here thank you, the kids in there, they think I'm a freak" she said, still not looking at him._

_"They think I'm a freak too" Harry said, coming to stand next to her. They were silent for a few minutes before Celeste finally said._

_"Why are you still here then? I would have thought you would have been adopted years ago"_

_Harry shrugged "I dunno. I tried, but no one wanted me. My aunt and uncle didn't want me."_

_Celeste didn't respond. "You know, you don't say much" Harry finally commented._

_"It's not that I don't have much to say, I just don't care for what we're talking about"_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because my story is none of your business."_

_"I couldn't agree more" Harry said, making Celeste look at him in surprise "But you don't have to reject me as a person overall"_

_Celeste stared at him with her big amber eyes before saying "It's not like you wanna be my friend. No one does"_

_"Who says I don't" Harry said "I'm just as rejected by that lot as you are. And I know that because we're orphans and all alone in the world that we have to fight for ourselves to get anywhere but still… doesn't mean we can't stick together"_

_Celeste thought this over for a few moments before she smiled. _

_"I like you Harry" she said "even if you're a bit weird. I mean what's up with that scar anyway" _

_"At least I'm not psycho. I heard you shoved Hannah Roberts down the stairs last week"_

_"She fell" Celeste said, but grinned crazily anyway._

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><p>It took months before Harry fully trusted her and another couple before she trusted him, but then they became the perfect team. They never quite shook the nicknames, scar-head and psycho, but they understood each other than anyone could ever understand another person. They'd had each other's backs in everything, and now they were going o Hogwarts, she was determined that wasn't going to change. Though she'd never admit it, Celeste loved Harry. He was the only family she'd ever known and the only family she needed.<p>

"There you are!" Harry said and she spun round with a smile on her face "Are you ready?"

"Ready" she said, and she meant it.

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	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 5<span>**

Platform 9 ¾ was very busy. Students and parents were everywhere, jostling into Harry and Celeste as they stood there with their trollies trying to get over the fact they'd just run through a brick wall. They looked around at all the different families in wonder. A little way down the platform Celeste caught sight of the woman she'd met in the bookshop, with her husband and son. The man and boy looked ridiculously alike, with a pale pointed face, blue grey eyes and sleek blonde hair. Celeste wasn't quite sure, but she thought she saw the woman point at her as she turned away.

"Shall we go get a seat?" Harry suggested and she nodded, loading her trunk and owl onto the scarlet steam engine. They found an empty compartment at the front and put their stuff in the overhead storage.

"This is it!" Harry said with a huge smile on his face and Celeste couldn't help but grin back as the whistle blew and the doors began to slam shut. As the train pulled out of the station Harry and Celeste turned their heads away from the smiling fathers and sobbing mothers who waved goodbye.

They remained undisturbed for about five minutes until the compartment door slid open and a girl stepped in. She was a first year as well, with lots of bushy brown hair and rather large front teeth. "Hi, do you mind if I join you?"

Harry and Celeste glanced uneasily at each other before nodding. She sat down next to Harry and said "I'm Hermione by the way, Hermione Granger"

"Harry"

"Celeste"

Hermione's eyes widened when Harry introduced himself "Harry Potter! I've read about you!"

"You have?"

"Yes you're in so many books?" she said excitedly as she began to list them.

"I am? Why?" Harry interrupted her to which she gave a confused look.

"For the fall of You-Know-Who"

"I-don't-know-who. What's he got to do with me?" Harry asked.

"You mean… You don't know?" Hermione whispered in a mixture of amazement and horror "How can you not know? You're the most famous person in the wizarding world! I'm Muggle-born and I know that!"

"Well, we're all ears if you'd care to share why Harry is so famous" Celeste drawled making Hermione jump and then recoil slightly.

"Um… well… I'm not sure if I should be the one to tell you!" she stammered gazing fearfully at Celeste.

"Ok, Cel, quit glaring at her, she hasn't done anything wrong!" Harry said.

"I know" she replied with a smile making Harry roll his eyes. Then she rose gracefully from her seat. "I'm gonna go look around. It was nice to meet you Hermione" she said before she disappeared.

"What's her deal?" Hermione asked Harry who shrugged.

"I'm not quite sure. I don't know what's going through her head half the time and I've known her for years. She's great though! You've just gotta give her a chance" he explained. He wasn't too comfortable with new people, which he suspected was why Celeste had left, but Hermione seemed nice enough and he knew it would take a while for him to learn to trust the friends he was going to make.

"I'm sure she is. If not just a tad scary" Hermione said warmly and Harry began to relax.

* * *

><p>Celeste made her way down the corridor, glancing into each compartment as she went. Finally at the very end of the train she found who she was looking for. She slid open the compartment door and stepped into the carriage where the blonde boy was sitting with a Italian boy and two thugs, as well as two girls, one pale with short dark blonde curly hair and the other with long black straight hair and brown eyes. They all looked up as she entered and then their eyes widened in realisation.<p>

"Excuse me but-" she was cut off by the blonde boy standing up and smiling.

"Ah. We've been waiting for you to show up. Sit down!" he said. Celeste's eyes flashed.

"Um, I don't think I will thank you" she said, turning to leave but her caught her arm.

"Wait, I know your parents. I want to explain everything to you. Just here me out" he said "You met my mother in Diagon Ally"

Cautiously she sat down in between the two girls and opposite the boy.

"Ok, so my name is Draco Malfoy, the Italian is Blaise Zabini, the dark haired girl is Pansy Parkinson and the blond is Daphne Greengrass. These two are Crabbe and Goyle" he gestured to the two thugs while the others smiled at her.

"Celeste. Celeste LeStrange. Now how do you know my parents?" she said.

"They're my aunt and uncle!" Draco said simply and leaned back in his seat.

"What? No way" Celeste got up to leave but Pansy pulled her down.

"He's telling the truth." She said "Your mothers are sisters. We all know your parents, not in person, but anyone worth knowing at Hogwarts will have heard of Bellatrix and Rodolphus LeStrange"

"How?" Celeste asked. She was starting to think this was some kind of joke, telling people they were famous.

"They were sent to prison" Draco said as if it were something that happened every day.

"What for?" Celeste asked, feeling quite alarmed and not really sure why she was listening to these people.

"That's not important right now. But here's a photo of your parents, and one of you and your mother. Mother said you wouldn't have any" Draco handed her two photographs that Celeste nearly dropped in surprise when she got a good look at.

"They move!"

"Well of course!" Daphne laughed.

There was no question that the two people in the photograph were her parents. The woman looked more like her then Draco and his father did, and the man had the exact same amber eyes. They were smiling, but Celeste wasn't entirely sure they were happy. The woman's smile was deranged, psychopathic and the man looked dark, imposing and just downright evil. Unsure, Celeste flipped to the next photograph. Again, her mother, and a child that was obviously her, only she didn't quite look the same. This child was only 2 years old, and though she hadn't changed much, the difference between young Celeste and current Celeste. This child had lush, curly hair rather than the tangled mess Celeste couldn't be bothered to sort out every day. She wore a clearly expensive green dress and was staring up into her mother's eyes with the biggest smile Celeste had ever seen on a human being, let alone her own face. Her mother smiled back, this time she truly did look happy. She psychopathic look in her eye was still there, but it was somehow drowned in the apparent love for the child in her arms.

Celeste had never hated her parents. Still she'd never really considered that they might have loved her.

"Thank you" she whispered.

* * *

><p>Towards the end of the journey Celeste bid her cousin and his friends goodbye and headed back to where she'd left Harry and Hermione. She found them both with a lanky red haired boy with freckles and shabby robes snacking on pumpkin pasties.<p>

"Hey guys, who's this?" Celeste said, sitting down and leaning on Harry's shoulder. He threw his arm around her and hugged her, glad she was back.

"I'm Ron Weasley, who are you?" the boy said rather rudely, his mouth full of food.

"Celeste" she introduced herself, wrinkling her nose. "So," She addressed the others "Have we established why Harry's famous yet?"

"Apparently, I defeated the darkest wizard in history when I was 1 year old" Harry said with raised eyebrows.

Celeste also raised an eyebrow and helped herself to a chocolate frog.

"Where'd you go?" Harry asked her and she grinned.

"I've got family!" she said and Harry's eyes widened.

"What? Who?" he asked with a smile. If anyone deserved family it was Celeste, so he ignored the pang of jealousy.

"A cousin. His names Draco Malfoy" she said. Ron very suddenly seemed to choke on his pasty and spat it out, making Hermione squeal.

"Celeste who?" he gasped between coughs.

"LeStrange…" a slightly alarmed Celeste informed him. No sooner had the word left her mouth, Hermione gasped and Ron seemingly snarled.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your- You" Ron spluttered while Celeste's gaze hardened.

"What?" Harry repeated but by this point Ron was pointing and Celeste jumped up and left the compartment. She didn't touch the door, but somehow the glass shattered.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry yelled at Ron who had now recovered.

"Harry, you can't be friends with her!" Ron said.

"And why not?" Harry's voice was very soft now. Dangerously soft.

"Because she a LeStrange!" Ron said it as if it were the worst crime anyone could ever commit.

"So… she's been my best friend since we were 7! Besides, what wrong with her name? She doesn't even remember her family"

"It doesn't matter! You're Harry Potter. Famous light wizard. And there is no way her parents could produce anything other than pure evil!"

"Get out!" Harry said before screaming "GET OUT!"

Ron opened his mouth to object before realising running might be the sensible option and fled from the compartment. They pulled into Hogsmeade as Harry turned to Hermione and said "Any objections to my friend choices?"

She shook her head vigorously and said timidly "She doesn't seem like her parents"

Harry nodded "Well I don't know who they are nor am I sure I want to so I suggest we go find her." Hermione agreed and they both left the train.

**Please Review!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 6<span>**

Celeste stared up at the cool September night and breathed deeply. The wind made her hair sway to one side and her robes flap around her ankles but she ignored it, along with all the other people on the platform.

"Hey, Ron's a git" Harry seemingly popped out of no-where by her side and grinned at her.

"Yeah he is" Celeste agreed as he took hold of her arm and lead her down the platform to where Hermione was waiting.

"So where do we go from here?" Celeste asked throwing Hermione a hardly warm but nicish smile.

"Firs' years ov'r 'ere" came the cry from a few feet away and suddenly the three eleven year olds found themselves standing in front of the largest man they'd ever seen.

"Harry isn't it?" He boomed looking down at them "Rubeus Hagrid, follow me"

He led them and the other first years down a steep slope to the edge of a huge lake. A small fleet of boats sat by the shore and Hagrid ordered them all to get in. Harry, Hermione and Celeste climbed into one with a sandy haired boy who introduced himself as Seamus Finnegan.

"So, what house you three heading for?" Seamus asked.

Both Harry and Hermione both immediately replied "Gryffindor!" Harry and Ron had discussed it on the journey, before he'd yelled at him about Celeste. To Harry it sounded by far the best.

"Um… I'm not sure" Celeste said. From the sounds of it, she would be going to Slytherin, because that was where her parents had been and where their friends children were all heading. However she knew from Draco that Gryffindor's and Slytherin's didn't get along and she couldn't say this now. She wanted more than anything to be with Harry, but from what she'd heard you didn't really get a choice.

"Duck!" Hagrid suddenly yelled as they went into a small cave. Harry gripped Celeste's hand in the darkness and when they came out the other side they were greeted with the sight of the magnificent castle they would call home for the next seven years. They docked the boats and ran over to the front steps. Hagrid knocked on the door and a strict looking woman in a wide brimmed pointed hat and emerald green robes appeared. Harry and Celeste recognised her as Professor McGonagall, the woman who had been there when they'd gotten their Hogwarts letter. She explained a few things to them before escorting them through to the entrance hall.

"Here we go!" Celeste said to Harry who took a deep breath and agreed.

"Here we go"

They went into the huge great hall and walked up the middle, between two of the four long tables. The ceiling had thousands of candles floating a few meters below it and was bewitched so it looked exactly like the starry night outside. The first years gathered in a small group in front of an old stool that held an even older looking hat. Once they had settled the rest of the school stared expectantly at the hat. Then a rip in the brim opened and it began to sing:

_Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
>But don't judge on what you see,<br>I'll eat myself if you can find  
>A smarter hat than me.<br>You can keep your bowlers black,  
>Your top hats sleek and tall,<br>For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
>And I can cap them all.<br>There's nothing hidden in your head  
>The Sorting Hat can't see,<br>So try me on and I will tell you  
>Where you ought to be.<br>You might belong in Gryffindor,  
>Where dwell the brave at heart,<br>Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
>Set Gryffindors apart;<br>You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
>Where they are just and loyal,<br>Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
>And unafraid of toil;<br>Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,  
>If you've a ready mind,<br>Where those of wit and learning,  
>Will always find their kind;<br>Or perhaps in Slytherin  
>You'll make your real friends,<br>Those cunning folks use any means  
>To achieve their ends.<br>So put me on! don't be afraid!  
>And don't get in a flap!<br>You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
>For I'm a Thinking Cap!<em>

The whole school burst into applause when it was finished and Celeste and Harry clapped with them, quite impressed. Then Professor McGonagall unrolled the large scroll and began to read out the names.

"Hannah Abbot!" she called. Harry and Celeste quickly grew tired of watching the hat call out names and began to look at the Professors. A greasy haired man with a hooked nose sitting on the end caught Harry's eye, because he was staring most intently at Celeste. He was about to point this out to his friend when suddenly his eyes met with the teachers and a searing pain shot through his scar.

"RAVENCLAW!" the hat yelled and Harry turned to see Hermione run off with a slightly disappointed but never the less pleased look on her face. Harry felt a pang of disappointment. He liked her, he'd hoped they be together. After a few names Professor McGonagall finally called "Celeste LeStrange"

The entire hall went absolutely silent. A round faced boy who'd lost his toad on the train looked both angry and scared of her. Celeste approached the stool without showing any emotion on her face and sat down elegantly. Celeste had been uncontrollable for most her childhood but one thing she remained proud of was that she could come across as a well brought young lady when she wanted to. Well, apart from her messy hair and foul mouth. The hat was lowered over her head and Celeste barely felt it brush her head before it screamed "SLYTHERIN"

The table underneath the green and silver banner burst into applause while the rest of the school remained stony faced. Celeste walked over to the Slytherin table sending Harry a sad smile as she went. Longbottom was called next and after a minute the boy who'd given her such a weird look went to Gryffindor.

Malfoy was called next. Harry carefully studied the boy who Celeste said was her cousin. He arrogantly strutted over to the stool and the hat was on his head for a moment longer then it was for Celeste. He went off to join Harry's best friend and he couldn't say he saw any resemblance.

Eventually, after a few more names, Harry was finally called. The minute his name dropped from McGonagall's lips the entire call began to whisper in excitement. He approached the stool with shaking knees and sat down, thinking maybe it was true he was famous since everyone was so excited.

The hat was on Harry's head for about two seconds, but that can feel like a lifetime when its pitch black and all you can hear are the murmurs of a hundred Hogwarts students. Then it screamed "GRYFFINDOR!" and the table under the lion's banner burst into applause. Harry joined his knew house and from across the hall his eyes met with Celeste's. As the hall became quiet once again the two raised an eyebrow at each other before, as if they could read each other's minds, they both mouthed 'We can work it out'

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><p><strong>I know it seems like they are drifting apart already but the point I want to get across in this story is how much the two love each other (as brother and sister right now). I want to explore how they can manage their friendships and adventures when they don't spend all their time together and blood status's and politics get involved, which is why I put Celeste, Harry and Hermione in separate houses. <strong>

**Also since it won't be explained in the story, in the sorting, the hat is impartial but also knows a few things from having been around so long. Since Celeste went to Slytherin Harry didn't go into his sorting adamant not to be placed there but the hat saw his initial intent of going to Gryffindor over his want to be with her. There is a part of Celeste that is just as dark and twisted as the parents from being alone all her life so when the hat hears her name, he searches for that and places her in Slytherin. The fact she went so quickly is not because her character is dark but simply because the hat found what it assumed was there. **

**Thank you for all the people who have reviewed so far!**

**Please Review **


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 7<span>**

Harry and Celeste had been at Hogwarts for few weeks. Harry was getting used to the fame and Celeste was getting used to the cold glares she received from people in the halls. She didn't understand why she got them, but she learned to live with them. Harry got used to the stares he received, most of them aimed at his scar, and since he found it extremely distracting it didn't take long before he was snapping at people for staring.

What really threw them was the massive problem that everyone had with them being friends. The Gryffindor's always told Harry that Celeste was pure evil, and the Slytherin's insisted that being friends with Harry Potter was terrible for her reputation. Still, no one would tell them what the problem was and the only person who didn't seem to care was Hermione. She knew, but wouldn't tell them, insisting she didn't want to ruin any chance of friendship as she was ever so slightly terrified of Celeste. Lots of people were.

Celeste remained in blissful ignorance of why her parents were in Azkaban. That was until her sixth potions lesson of the year.

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><p>They had double potions on Tuesday and Friday, the Gryffindors and Slytherins together in the dungeons with Professor Snape. Snape was the teacher who had made Harry's scar hurt and he absolutely loathed Harry. He seemingly adored Celeste, in the best way a cold hearted snake like himself could, and favoured her tremendously.<p>

The reason Celeste found out about her parents was not down to Snape however, or Harry, or even Draco. It was down to Neville Longbottom, who was unfortunately late for this potions lesson. Snape let the students sit wherever they wanted and on this occasion Celeste, Draco and Blaise were sitting in the front row with a spare seat next to Celeste. Harry sat in the row behind with Seamus, Ron (who he severely disliked) and a Muggle born boy named Dean Thomas. Neville burst into the classroom 20 minutes after the class had started and was greeted by Snape's cold glare.

"Longbottom you are late!" He snapped, his voice echoing throughout the silent dungeon. Nearly everyone looked up from the potion they were brewing.

"I-I-I-" Neville stammered, too terrified to explain himself.

"30 points from Gryffindor" Snape snarled before glancing round the room for an empty seat "Sit…" His lip curled slightly before he said "Next to Miss LeStrange"

Although the room had been silent before, now it became deadly, the tension in the air so thick you could almost taste it.

Finally Ron burst "You can't do that!" He regretted it the moment Snape turned his cold gaze on him.

"I am a Professor Weasley; I can do whatever I want. Another 20 points from Gryffindor, Longbottom! Sit. Next. To. LeStrange!"

His tone left no room for arguing so Neville reluctantly approached the stool next to Celeste's and dragged it right to the edge of the bench before sitting in it.

"Rude much?" Celeste muttered under her breath and raised her eyebrows at Harry who shrugged.

Towards the end of the lesson, Neville had a slight accident. He added salamander blood before the unicorn horn powder and a moment later his potion turned a sickly yellow colour before his cauldron rattled and very suddenly exploded. Fortunately for him, he had time to duck out the way, however Celeste wasn't so lucky. Both Draco and Blaise had the sense to pull her out of the way before she got completely drenched but some of the potion did get spilled down the front of her robes and on her left cheek. For a moment it seemed like it would all be fine, but then Celeste gave out an agonising scream and the potion faded to reveal an angry red burn on the side of her face.

"You idiot!" she hissed menacingly taking a step towards Neville who was cowering by the mess that was his cauldron. "It burns! Why couldn't you just do it right?"

Neville opened his mouth to retort but a moment later he fell to the floor screaming. Everyone looked around in shock, but no one had a wand out. Celeste however was standing over Neville with a demented look in her eye. Everyone stared at Neville in horror until Harry finally decided that whatever Celeste was doing it was way too extreme.

"Celeste!" he said and reached over to grab her shoulder. As soon as he did this her head snapped round and she gave him the most terrifying glare Harry had ever received or seen. Still, Neville stopped screaming and lay panting on the dungeon floor while Celeste seemed to come back to her senses and looked around in slight bewilderment. Her eyes fell on Neville and a look of uncertainty crossed her face. She glanced and Draco and Professor Snape but they both looked just as shocked as all the others.

"You're a monster!" Ron's voice broke the deadly silence for the second time that day. When he said this, both Draco and Harry stepped forward defensively and growled "Say that again" before they glared at each other.

By this point Neville had recovered and sat up. He stared at Celeste accusingly and said in a shaking voice "Like mother, like daughter"

Celeste had had enough, so she grabbed her bag and ran out the dungeon, her hair flying out behind her.

* * *

><p>At break time Harry couldn't find Celeste anywhere. He was heading down the west staircase when he quite literally ran into Hermione.<p>

"Harry!" she said, rubbing her forehead with a look of relief on her face "What happened? Everyone's raving about what happened in potions with Neville and Celeste. Something about the cruciatus curse"

"The what?" Harry stared at her blankly and she sighed.

"What happened?" she asked. So Harry explained in great detail what happened in potions. Once he was finished Hermione thought for a bit before finally saying

"Well that sounds like the cruciatus curse. It's kind of sick that she can cast that at all, let alone at only 11."

Harry snorted and when Hermione gave him an odd look he said "Look, Celeste is my best friend, but even I have to admit she's completely sick in the head. She has the weirdest ideas. What's the Cruciatus curse anyway?"

"It's the torture curse. Her parents… they were famous for it. Her mother especially"

"WHAT?"

"Look…" Hermione bit her lip "I didn't want to be the one to tell you this, but Celeste's parents… they're literally the darkest people to have ever set foot on this earth" she watched Harry's face carefully for a reaction "They were so powerful, rich, clever and they were the most loyal followers of the man who killed your parents. She was taken to that orphanage when her parents were taken to Azkaban for torturing Neville's parents until they… lost their minds" her voice was so quiet Harry could barely here what she was saying by the end.

"Oh." Was his only reply. "That's why everyone has such a big problem with us being friends?" he finally asked.

Hermione sighed "Look Harry, it's difficult to explain. Not even the books do it well. You were both born in the mist of the greatest war our world has ever seen. On opposite sides. She was the princess of the dark and you are the hero of the light"

Harry sighed and remained silent before finally saying "I don't care"

Hermione sighed and smiled. "Well then, I say we go find her. I'm guessing she's in the library, and by now knows as much as you do.

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><p>Celeste sat in the corner of the enormous Hogwarts library clutching an old edition of the Daily Prophet. It was dated two days before she had arrived at Gateshead.<p>

**LESTRANGES ARRESTED **read the headline followed by a long article explaining everything to Celeste.

It wasn't fair. Why did her parents have to be murderers? Why? It also meant she just happened to be the worst enemy of her best friend. Thinking about it, Celeste realised that this was the world she belonged in. The one of dark magic, secrets and dangerous enemies. Harry only had to save the world and she only had to destroy it.

Still something stirred at the back of her mind. She couldn't quite place it. There was something else she felt towards her parents now she knew who they were, other than disgust and confusion. Something like… pride. It was odd that she could even consider feeling proud of the death eater scum that were her mum and dad but it was there, somewhere mixed up inside her. Everyone in Slytherin respected her for being a LeStrange, and they were powerful and rich and clever.

Looking up, Celeste saw Harry and Hermione approaching her. Wiping away a tear she stood up and vowed under her breath

"No more crying. LeStrange's don't cry!" The words felt familiar and somewhat comforting

**Please Review! **


	9. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 8<span>**

The truth about Celeste's parents remained unspoken between Harry, Hermione and Celeste. They all understood it, but it was not mentioned, Harry and Celeste deciding that their history as friends was far more important than whom their parents were. The weeks went by, Harry being picked for the Quidditch team and the three of them falling into the Hogwarts routine as if they'd been doing it their whole life.

Still, Harry noticed Celeste was… changing. It wasn't obvious at first, as she usually either hung out with Harry or her Slytherin friends but never together, as her housemates strongly opposed her friendship with the boy-who-lived and Harry loathed Draco Malfoy. Yet, Harry often caught sight of Celeste with the Slytherins and after a while he started to notice things. How she walked elegantly and spoke politely. How the girls flanked her, as if she were leader and more important and how nearly everyone, even the older years seemed to respect her. It bothered Harry, especially as he knew why they did it. He wanted to bring it up with her but he couldn't, because he knew she wouldn't want to talk about it.

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><p>One warm October evening Harry was coming into the entrance hall with Hermione after Quidditch practice, looking forward to dinner and dreading the pile of homework that was waiting for him in the common room. Unfortunately, since Hermione was in Ravenclaw she couldn't help him so Harry had to struggle through it by himself. He didn't do badly, but he probably could have done better if Ron didn't pester him for help every five seconds.<p>

Celeste came up from the dungeons as he approached the great hall. She was laughing with Draco, hanging onto his arm with the biggest smile on her face. She didn't look any different to any other evening, her uniform had reached its point of messiness with her tie loose and shirt sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Her hair was wilder then it usually was and she looked kind of scruffy compared to her friends. Still the others hung onto every word she said, and for some reason the way Malfoy acted with her, as if he really cared about her and as if he'd known her for years, really got under Harry's skin.

"Hey Psycho!" he called across the hall and her head snapped up. She grinned at him for a second, but it faltered as she glanced at Malfoy. He took a step forward as the others went into the hall.

"What did you call her?" he snarled "She's not a psycho!"

The minute he said this Harry felt anger bubbling to the surface. When Celeste stepped forward and put a hand on Malfoys arm saying "Drake its ok" he just snapped.

"How would you know?" he cut off whatever Celeste was saying, gripping his wand tightly in his pocket. He really hoped he wouldn't have to use it since he only knew a few spells that would be pretty useless in a fight and Malfoy probably knew some that could hurt.

"She's my cousin!" Draco's fist was clenched around his wand, more threateningly then Harry.

"Still, you've only known her five minutes" Harry said, seeing Hermione and Celeste roll their eyes at each other out of the corner of his eye.

"Well-" Draco was cut off by Celeste clearing her throat and going

"For god's sakes, I'm starving! Drake it's just something he calls me, bedsides I am a psycho. I'll see you at the table once you've sorted this out. Catch ya later scar head!" she winked at Harry and flashed him an easy smile before heading into the great hall with Hermione.

"Ok, listen Potter" Malfoy growled once she was out of earshot "This is how it's going to work. I'm her cousin; she belongs in my society and shouldn't be mixing with the likes of you. You've got to stay away from her if you know what's good for you"

"I don't care! She's closer to being my cousin then yours. I've known her for that long." Harry retorted.

"We're settling this. Tonight, Wizards dual, Trophy room at midnight!" Draco said before turning and storming off into the hall.

"You're on!" Harry yelled after him. He had no idea what a wizards dual was, so he skipped dinner and headed off to the library to find out.

* * *

><p>Hermione thought he was being stupid, but after much persuasion agreed to go with Harry that night. However, she really wished she hadn't as they sat in the cold trophy room at half past midnight.<p>

"Let's face it Harry, he's not coming. Let's go back to bed" she begged him for the twelfth time.

"No! I'd sooner wait here all night!" Harry said firmly. Suddenly there was a very distant crashing noise, coming from another classroom around the corner.

"Peeves!" came the rough voice of Filch from right outside the door. The two first years held their breath as he padded past them towards the source of the noise. They waited until they couldn't hear his footsteps before letting out massive sighs of relief. Then almost immediately another step of footsteps was heard outside, only these were lighter, coming from bare feet rather than the caretakers boots. The door swung open with a faint creek and in stepped Celeste.

Immediately, if either Harry or Hermione felt cold they forgot about it after one glance at Celeste. They had the sense to bring dressing gowns and slippers, but she stood there in only a tatty tank top and shorts, her hair braided loosely over one shoulder.

"Harry" she whispered urgently "You have to get out of here now! Draco set you up and tipped Filch off. I caused a distraction, but you have to go now! You too Hermione!" she said when she noticed her bushy haired friend.

"You came!" Harry grinned before pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"Um Harry" Celeste wriggled in discomfort but Harry didn't care.

"Urgh! Come on!" Hermione said, dragging them towards the door. In the corridor they ran up the staircase when suddenly it began to move.

"The stairs!" Hermione said in horror as the landing they had been heading to, the one that lead to the common rooms, was replaced by another landing. The one that lead to the third floor corridor on the right hand side.

The three children looked at each other in concern. Finally Celeste whispered "screw it" and pulled out her wand. She pointed it at the lock and muttered "Alohamora"

The door clicked open and they all piled inside. Hermione immediately began to quiz her on where she'd learned the spell as Harry led them to the end of the hall. This time Hermione unlocked the door and they let out a huge sigh of relief as they shut it behind them. Only it was short lived because when Harry turned around he was faced with a huge, black three headed dog bearing its teeth and drool gripping from its jaw.

"Cerberus!" Celeste whispered in awe before she did a reality check and screamed with the others. The three children only just had time to register it was standing on a trapdoor before they were out the door, down the corridor and back at their common rooms thankfully without Filch spotting them.

Harry's heart was still pounding in his chest as he lay in his four poster bed listening to Ron and Neville snore. One thought raced through his mind.

_What was that dog guarding?_

**Please Review!**


	10. Chapter 9

**Hi, Sorry about the wait for this chapter. Thanks for all your reviews, keep posting them!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 9<span>**

Halloween brought much excitement amongst the first years. There was the feast and Professor Flitwick finally announced they would be practicing the levitation spell they'd all been dyeing to try since the teacher had made Neville's toad fly around the room.

The Gryffindors took charms with the Ravenclaws so Harry and Hermione partnered up. Harry had a few goes but the most he could get his feather to do was twitch a bit. Hermione was in no doubt capable of performing the spell but seemed more interested in Ron who was sitting next to her.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" he shouted, waving his long arms like a windmill.

"You're saying it wrong," Harry heard Hermione say "It's Wing-gar-dium Levi-o-sa, make the 'gar' nice and long."

She said it purely to be helpful but Ron clearly didn't appreciate it. "You do it then if you're so clever," Ron snarled.

Hermione gave him a hard look before rolling up her sleeves, swishing and flicking her wand and saying "Wingardium Leviosa!" Much to Ron's horror the feather on her desk floated up towards the ceiling.

As they were leaving the classroom Ron said very loudly to Neville "Did you hear her? Levi_oooo_sa! She's a nightmare, honestly!" Hermione, who was walking along side Harry, pushed past the boys with tears running down her face. Harry turned furiously to Ron, but the ginger had enough sense to know he should leg it and was already around the corner. Harry couldn't find Hermione anywhere and eventually went to the feast, hoping to see her there.

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><p>As he entered the Great Hall someone grabbed him and pulled him into a small, hidden alcove next to the door. To his relief it was Celeste, with her Slytherin uniform on and dark hair braided over one shoulder.<p>

"What's wrong?" Harry asked in alarm wondering what possibly could have happened since he saw her at lunch.

"It's Hermione!" she said "I found her crying in the girls bathrooms! Something about Weasley and Charms but she's refusing to come out!"

Harry nodded and then explained everything that had happened. Celeste rolled her eyes when she heard Hermione had done the spell right first time.

"Blimey, that spell took me three goes and when I did manage it my feather shot up so fast it made a hole in the ceiling! Literally!" Celeste complained while Harry laughed. Finally the two just stared at each other for a few moments. Then Celeste laughed and shook her head at him before pulling him close in hug. Harry wasn't quite sure what brought it on, but it was the warmest hug he'd ever received from her and hugged her back.

"I don't see you enough!" she said giving him a piercing look. "It's not fair! We have so little time we never have proper time to talk. Like, I dunno anything about your friends really, or what you think of mine…" she laughed when Harry pulled a face.

"C'mon, I'm starving!" Harry pulled her in the Great Hall by the wrist but she pulled back, not quite willing to have to head back to her friends. They stood in the doorway, laughing and talking as ghosts and students walked past them, completely unaware of the people watching them carefully.

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><p>Despite how it looked, in the few months that he had known her, Draco Malfoy had really come to like his cousin. He had no other cousins, (at least not any he'd met, his mothers other sister had a daughter) and he wasn't about to ruin his relationship with this one. He loved her, with her messy good looks and clever tongue. He knew she liked being in Slytherin, but no matter how many times they argued over the matter she refused to stop being friends with Harry Potter and Hermione Granger.<p>

"Draco!" Pansy brought him back to earth as he tore his eyes away from Harry and Celeste. She quickly spotted what he was looking at.

"She'll come around you know" Blaise said, noticing as well "She's a LeStrange. She's her mother's daughter, through and through. She makes it clearer every day!"

The others agreed but Draco muttered "Yes, but I sometimes I think she's too much like her parents"

Draco didn't really remember his Aunt Bellatrix but his mother had told him stories. Bella was dangerous, reckless and without a doubt the most stubborn person to ever have walked the planet. Draco had a feeling that attempting to tear Celeste away from Harry would only make her stick by him more.

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><p>Dumbledore observed the two first years from over the rim of his glass. They fascinated him, along with many other members of staff. Every day they spent at Hogwarts, Harry became more like James and Lily, while Celeste grew darker and more like her own parents. The teachers reported that they were struggling to control Celeste's magic in classes, that when she mastered it, it was far too powerful. When Severus had explained that the girl undoubtly cast the cruciatus curse on Neville Longbottom, he had been most disturbed, even more so when he learned she'd done it unintentionally.<p>

Still, in the two children's relationship all he saw was unwavering loyalty that no matter what poisoned it only grew stronger. There was a lot of rivalry amongst the first years. The hate Miss LeStrange and Mr Longbottom shared was expected; although Dumbledore had a feeling Celeste only hated him for assuming she was like her parents. Mr Malfoy and Mr Potter being enemies was also not surprising however Dumbledore had been most disappointed when he found out Ron Weasley and Harry Potter didn't care for one another. In fact Harry seemed to have little love for any of the Gryffindors.

Dumbledore was torn. He knew that Harry and Celeste's friendship would be dangerous if the future progressed in the way he expected it to. Still, he wanted the boy to trust him, and wouldn't get there by manipulating him. 'Besides,' the old man thought to himself as he watched them hug and head to their house tables 'They do seem to love each other'

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><p>Harry and Celeste quickly forgot about Hermione as they tucked into the delicious feast. Of course, that meant she was the first thing that popped into their minds when Professor Quirrell came running into the hall screaming at the top of his lungs.<p>

"TROLL! TROLL IN THE DUNGEONS! Thought you ought to know" he said before sinking away in dead faint. Immediately there was panic and as the teachers tried to calm everyone Harry and Celeste's eyes locked across the room. Harry mouthed the word _Hermione _and Celeste jerked her head in the direction of the door. Unseen, the two children slipped out of their seats and out through the door. Harry didn't consider they could be in danger, he only wanted to save Hermione and although the thought did cross Celeste's mind, something in her was looking for danger that night.

So the two children raced off toward the girls bathroom, more like their parents then they had ever been before.

**Please Review!**


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The description of the troll and parts of the Quidditch game are taken from the first harry potter book.**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 10<span>**

Harry and Celeste raced down the corridors towards the girl's bathroom on the second floor. They skidded around the corner and came to a very abrupt halt as they saw a creature, twelve feet tall, its skin was dull, granite grey, its great lumpy body like a boulder with its small bald head perched on top like a coconut. It had short legs thick as tree trunks with flat, horny feet. The smell coming from it was incredible. It was holding a huge wooden club, which dragged along the floor because its arms were so long.

"Hey, we could lock it in!" Harry's eyes lit up; as he had what he thought was a pretty good idea. Apparently Celeste didn't agree since she hit him quite hard on the arm. Harry had learned the hard way that she could throw a good punch.

"You idiot," she hissed menacingly "That's the girls bathroom!" and as if to prove her point a loud scream came from inside the room the troll had gone into. "C'mon!" she dragged him inside. Hermione was cowering in the corner underneath a sink and by the looks of things the troll had blown away most of the toilet cubicles with his club. He was currently smashing up the sinks one by one and was only two away from killing Hermione.

Not seeing what else he could do Harry yelled "Oi, pea brain!" and threw a piece of wood at the trolls head. It turned and headed towards Harry, giving Celeste the space to duck under its arm and haul Hermione out from under the sink.

"Great, now what?" Harry asked no one in particular.

"Distract it!" Celeste shouted, pulling out her wand as the troll turned toward the sound of her voice. Harry really hoped she knew what she was doing as he ran at the beast from behind and climbed up its back onto its shoulders. The troll let go of its club and grabbed Harry's legs in an attempt to throw him off which gave Celeste an idea. She pointed her wand at the club and cried "Wingardium Leviosa!"

As Harry leapt off its shoulders he realised people weren't kidding when they said Celeste was powerful. The club flew into the troll's stomach with such force that it was sent crashing through the far wall and into an empty charms classroom. This only made it angrier and as it stood up Harry and Hermione literally though they were going to die. Then Celeste stepped forward with the most terrifying glint in her eye and suddenly there was a crack, and the troll fell forward, flat on its face.

"Wha-what did you do?" Hermione asked in a shaky voice but her friend never gave her an answer. Instead, Celeste threw back her head and began to laugh. It wasn't her usual laugh. It was manic, demented and made her more psychopathic then she had ever been. Harry really didn't like the crazy look in her eye that made it seem like she enjoyed causing pain. Harry had always known Celeste was sick, but not like this.

She was still laughing when Professor McGonagall came running in through the door with Snape and Quirrell. They all looked astonished at the sight before them. A twelve foot mountain troll lay on the floor with three first years standing in front of it, two of which looked terrified and the third had a sick smile on her face.

Hermione's robes were covered in water and dust while her hair was three times more bushy then it usually was. Her face was tear stained and she was shaking with fear. Harry looked a bit more put together then Hermione; although his hair was a mess and his robes were in a worse state. Celeste however looked as immaculate as she had down at the feast, which was unusual for her but even more so after fighting a mountain troll. McGonagall was quite disturbed by the look on the young girls face but still stepped forward, almost shaking with anger.

"What is going on here?" she asked lips white.

The students looked at each other before Hermione stepped forward and said "You see Professor; I was in the bathroom so I didn't know about the troll. Harry and Celeste came and found me because Celeste knew where I was. Harry climbed up on its shoulders and Celeste knocked it out. If they hadn't come and found me, I'd probably be dead"

Snape knelt down beside the troll and murmured an incantation before standing up. McGonagall looked around the room before saying "Well, I'd like to say you were lucky but I am curious to know how Miss LeStrange managed to knock out a fully grown mountain troll." Snape whispered something in her ear at this which made her eyes widen before she said "Very well, 20 points to Gryffindor and Slytherin each. I am impressed, although it was most foolish of you two to come and find Miss Granger your selves. 5 points from your houses for not informing a teacher. Now return to your dormitories, Miss LeStrange I understand Mr Malfoy has become increasingly worried about your disappearance. Professor Dumbledore will be informed of this!"

Harry, Hermione and Celeste left the bathroom and headed to the east staircase. None of them said anything until they reached the point where they went their separate ways.

"Thanks" Hermione whispered and quickly pulled Celeste into a hug before they all headed to their separate common rooms.

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><p>"A stunning spell?" Professor Dumbledore eyed the two teachers wearily "She cast a cruciatus curse that her mother would be proud of last week, why are we worried about a simple stunning spell?"<p>

"Because Albus," McGonagall said crisply "Celeste LeStrange is casting fourth year spells unintentionally as well as unforgivable curses. She is far too powerful and uncontrollable. She can't be allowed near the Potter boy!"

"They grew up together" Dumbledore sighed "I can hardly tell him to just stop talking to her!"

"She is too like her mother, can you not see that?" Snape stepped forward, feeling the headmaster was not seeing it as it was.

"You were in a similar situation when you were younger Severus, need I remind you no one questioned your relesionship with the Gryffindor Muggle-born" Albus stared at the potions master. Snape set his teeth.

"That was different, there was nothing at stake. This girl could jeopardise our entire plan for the future!"

"We need Harry to trust us! Besides, they clearly love each other. Maybe Celeste is not as much like her mother as we thought!" Dumbledore tried to convince them. McGonagall threw her arms up.

"Albus, you didn't see her today. When she knocked out the troll she gave a laugh more psychotic then Bellatrix after 10 years with the dementors!" the Headmaster still said nothing so the Transfiguration teacher snapped "Well if you won't advise him, I will!" Before she stormed out of the office.

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><p>The first Quidditch match of the season was Gryffindor verses Slytherin on a bright and frosty November morning. Harry felt sick to the core and couldn't bring himself to eat anything beforehand. Ron was especially excited and wasn't improving his mood at breakfast. Dean Thomas was quite nice but being Muggle-born he couldn't really tell Harry anything about Quidditch. Harry was hoping to see Celeste or Hermione before he had to get changed, but someone informed him they'd seen the two of them go down to the field. Harry loitered around in the entrance hall for a bit, not quite ready to go down to the pitch and saw Snape and Flitch coming down the stairs. Snape was limping and as the two walked passed Harry caught the potions teacher saying "-how are you supposed to keep an eye on all three heads at once? Took a chunk out my leg!"<p>

As Harry changed into his scarlet robes down at the Quidditch changing rooms he thought about what he had overheard. He was certain Snape had tried to get past the three headed dog on Halloween. Which meant he'd probably let the troll in as a diversion. His head was still buzzing with this idea as they marched out onto the pitch and greeted the Slytherin team. Harry felt braver as he mounted his Nimbus 2000 and spotted Hermione in the stands with Lisa Turpin, one of her Ravenclaw friends.

Madam Hooch gave a loud blast on her silver whistle. Fifteen brooms rose up, high, high into the air. They were off. "And the Quaffle is taken immediately by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor - what an excellent Chaser that girl is, and rather attractive, too -"

"JORDAN!"

"Sorry, Professor."

The Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan, was doing the commentary for the match, closely watched by Professor McGonagall.

"And she's really belting along up there, a neat pass to Alicia Spinnet, a good find of Oliver Wood's, last year only a reserve - back to Johnson and - no, the Slytherins have taken the Quaffle, Slytherin Captain Marcus Flint gains the Quaffle and off he goes - Flint flying like an eagle up there - he's going to sc- no, stopped by an excellent move by Gryffindor Keeper Wood and the Gryffindors take the Quaffle - that's Chaser Katie Bell of Gryffindor there, nice dive around Flint, off up the field and - OUCH - that must have hurt, hit in the back of the head by a Bludger - Quaffle taken by the Slytherins - that's Adrian Pucey speeding off toward the goal posts, but he's blocked by a second Bludger - sent his way by Fred or George Weasley, can't tell which - nice play by the Gryffindor Beater, anyway, and Johnson back in possession of the Quaffle, a clear field ahead and off she goes - she's really flying - dodges a speeding Bludger - the goal posts are ahead - come on, now, Angelina - Keeper Bletchley dives - misses - GRYFFINDORS SCORE!"

Harry did a couple of loop the loops as the Gryffindors scored. He then returned to looking for the snitch. Down in the Slytherin, wrapped in her cloak and silver and green striped scarf he could see Celeste, cheering for her own house but still watching Harry closely as he flew about above the game.

He spotted the snitch once but Marcus Flint blocked him before he could reach it. Then half way through the game, Harry's broom gave a sudden lurch. It zipped one way, then the other before bucking up and down. Like it was trying to throw him off. Down in the stands, many people had realised what was going on, including Hermione and Celeste. Hermione quickly realised it must be a jinx and her eyes scanned the crowd, landing on the teacher stand, assuming they were the only ones powerful enough to jinx a broom. She fixed on Snape and saw he had his eyes fixed on Harry, muttering non-stop under his breath. Cursing under her breath, Hermione fought her way through the crowds of students pointing in horror at Harry, who was now swinging himself back up onto his broom after hanging from it with only one hand. She reached the teachers stand and without thinking of anything else, gave Snape an almighty shove before running off unseen. Snape went crashing into Quirrell who was in front of him and never found out who pushed him over.

Harry was by this point back on his broom and was speeding toward the ground when the crowd saw him clap his hand to his mouth as though he was about to be sick - he hit the field on all fours - coughed - and something gold fell into his hand. "I've got the Snitch!" he shouted, waving it above his head, and the game ended in complete confusion.

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>


	12. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 11<span>**

Celeste and Hermione were waiting outside the changing room door as Harry left it with the rest of the team. Hermione ran forward and tackled him with a bear hug and the team laughed at her before heading to the celebrations in the Gryffindor common room. They glared at Celeste as they passed her but didn't dare say anything since they didn't want to get on Harry's bad side, and even though they were mostly fourth or fifth years, they were all absolutely terrified of her. Once they'd all passed, Celeste grinned and ran forward, hugging her friend.

"Um, Cel, I kinda need to breath" He wheezed after a few minutes. She let go and composed herself, sweeping her hair back and adjusting her silver and green striped scarf.

"Oh my gosh! I was so worried!" Hermione gushed "It was amazing how you managed to get back on your broom!"

"Were you worried too psycho?" Harry asked Celeste. She huffed and rolled her eyes.

"Please, I thought I was finally about to get rid of you!" she said folding her arms across her chest, but a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. The three began to walk away from the stadium and towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

"I dunno what happened! Just one minute I lost control of the broom." Harry explained to Celeste as they went. Hermione looked uncomfortable and cleared her throat.

"Um Harry, it… it was Snape. He was jinxing the broom" she said nervously, twisting her fingers together.

"Professor Snape?" Celeste stopped and stared at Hermione "Don't be ridiculous!"

"I'm serious! I've read all about jinxes and you have to keep eye contact. Snape wasn't blinking!" Hermione insisted while Harry watched her.

"He does hate me" Harry looked at Celeste apologetically who huffed again and stalked on ahead. The others started to run to catch up and Hermione opened her mouth to say something when suddenly something huge came out of the forest heading right towards them. It was wrapped up very warmly, had a lot of massy black hair and dragged some kind of dead animal behind him. The three children stood there, frozen with terror as the thing approached them. It came closer and Celeste stepped forward, with her excellent eyesight was making out the giants face. "Is that… Hagrid?" she asked themselves and the other two just looked her. They, with all the stuff going on had in all honestly forgotten about the giant who had taken them across the lake on their first night.

"'ello there!" Hagrid smiled down at them, Celeste stepping behind her friends so that he couldn't get a good look at her face "I was wandering when you'd be coming down to see me 'Arry!" he kicked open the front door of his hut "Come on in, I'll make some tea!"

Harry couldn't really refuse, so he shrugged and went inside, the girls in tow. Despite his enormous size, Hagrid looked much friendlier in the warm light of his round hut. It wasn't much, but it was very cosy.

"These your friends?" Hagrid asked gesturing to Hermione and Celeste as he put the kettle on. Harry nodded and said.

"This is Hermione and Celeste." He didn't say their surnames or really point out who was who. Hagrid smiled at them and said

"Well come in and take your cloaks off!" The girls obliged and sat next to Harry at the round table. Harry casually glanced at Celeste and got the shock of his life. She looked… nice. It was hard to call and eleven year old beautiful but Harry couldn't think of a better word to describe her. She'd actually brushed her hair, so it fell around her face and shoulders in its natural dark, silky ringlets that lots of girls would die for, maybe without the uneven cut Celeste gave herself with gluey scissors back at Gateshead. As for her dress, Harry had never seen anything so expensive in his life. Celeste usually wore the tacky second hand stuff from the charity shops, but this was the kind of dress that Harry saw the pure-blood Slytherin girls wearing at the weekends, though he supposed Celeste was one of them, as much as he hated to admit it. It was made of black velvet and silk, with small silver stars embroidered on it and looked gorgeous on her.

"Where'd you get the dress?" Harry asked her as she smoothed it out and settled in her seat. She sat with her back straight, ankles crossed and her hands folded neatly in her lap. Even though that was how she always sat, like a well brought up young lady, it was really annoying Harry right now.

"My aunt sent it to me" she answered, her tone leaving no room for further conversation on the matter.

"So… 'ow are you likin Hogwarts?" Hagrid asked them setting tea and a plate of rock cakes on the table. Harry, Hermione and Celeste gave the standard answer of 'Fine' and 'Great' before Hermione launched into a long speech about her favourite classes. After about five minutes Hagrid chuckled at her and interrupted her by saying "Well, you seem keen. What house are you in?"

"Ravenclaw"

"Well, no surprises there. What about you… Celeste wasn't it?" Hargrid asked.

"I'm in Slytherin" she said, before taking another sip of her tea. Harry and Hermione held their breath waiting to see if he put two and two together.

"Ahh" was all Hagrid said. Apparently, he either never had the 'pleasure' of meeting Bellatrix LeStrange, or he wasn't that attentive to detail. Either way Celeste avoided being in the spotlight for the rest of their visit.

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><p>It was dark as they began to climb the hill toward the castle. They rubbed their hands together as their fingers went numb and the icy wind went down the back of their necks.<p>

"My stars, it is so cold!" Celeste complained as her combat boots slipped on the frosty ground as they climbed up the castles front steps.

"Look on the bright side" Hermione panted into her scarf in attempt to send warm air into her clothes "Christmas is right around the corner"

"Oh yeah" Celeste stopped in the entrance hall "Harry…" he stopped and looked at her, knowing he was about to hear something he didn't want to. "Draco, or rather his dad, invited me to stay with them over Christmas. If, if you want to stay here… I don't mind though"

Harry looked at her, and maybe for a moment he thought he saw something in her eyes, but it was gone almost instantly. He took a deep breath and said "Although it will be weird, I know if it were me I wouldn't want you to stop me. So go"

Celeste immediately lit up and hugged him hard. "You're the best Harry!" she squealed, before running off towards the dungeons to tell her cousin. Harry sighed as he watched her go before beginning to ascend the stairs with Hermione.

"You know," Hermione said after a while "My mum and dad, they're Muggles, dentists, nothing special really. Christmas at home won't be nearly as exciting as it is here but… but you wouldn't be alone" The two came to a stop at the foot of the staircase that split to lead to the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor towers.

"What are you saying Hermione?" Harry asked wearily. He was tired and wanted to go to bed.

"My mum said I could have a friend home for the holidays. I think you'll get lonely here by yourself and I can't imagine why you'd want to return to that orphanage without Celeste. So… do you want to come home with me for the holidays?"

Harry was silent for a few moments, before he grinned and said "Well, so long as your parents don't mind!" Hermione hugged him and ran up the stairs, very excited to write to her mother and say one of her best friends would be coming home with her this Christmas.

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><p>The bell echoed through the corridors signalling to the students that it was time for lunch and causing the teachers to lose control of their classes momentarily. Professor McGonagall had the Gryffindor and Slytherin first years for Transfiguration, and none of them dared disrupt the lesson, even though they were all starving.<p>

"If you have successfully transfigured your beetle into a button, please come and place it on my desk now" There was a slightly awkward silence with some scuffling before Celeste looked around the room and rose from her seat at the back of the room. She winked at Harry as she past him before placing the black button on the desk in front of McGonagall. The Professor inspected it for fault while Celeste went back to her seat before she begrudgingly awarded 10 points to Slytherin. the rest of the class handed in their beetles or half beetles, half buttons and packed up their things.

"Homework, a four foot essay on the discovery and theory of the spell. Potter, a word!" Professor McGonagall called as they filed out of the room. Celeste went on with her friends and didn't look back.

"Yes Professor" Harry stood at the front, nervously flattening his hair.

"I wanted to talk to you, about Miss LeStrange. Or rather your friendship with her" McGonagall said crisply "As your head of house, I really feel it necessary to advise you that she is a very dangerous person for you to be friends with"

"professor, I know who her parents are, but honestly she's nothing like them. I've known her for years!" Harry said, desperate to make one of his favourite teachers see how it really was. McGonagall sighed,

"Potter, I know you think you love her, but even now, at 11 she is showing signs of being dark..." she looked at Harry's face and realised she wasn't getting through to him. "Very well, I can see I'm not going change your mind about it. have a good Christmas, and do try and think about what I said"

Harry nodded and left the room.

**So, Harry's going to Hermione's for Christmas and Celeste is going to the Malfoys. McGonagall is trying to convince Harry Celeste is evil, is she planting doubt in his mind?**

**Please Review!**


	13. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 12<span>**

The Hogwarts Express slowly pulled into Kings Cross Station one dark, snowy evening in December. The platform was crowded with excited family members wanting to see their children again and the train was full of thrilled students, glad to be getting a break from school life. Harry and Hermione sat on their own, with Celeste only occasionally dropping in, as she was sitting with her cousin and other friends. Despite missing it with Celeste, Harry was really looking forward to spending Christmas with Hermione. Her parents seemed nice from how easy going they'd been in their letters and Harry had always wanted to attend an ordinary family dinner, celebration or not. As the train stopped and children began to get off Celeste suddenly appeared one last time. She was wearing a different dress to the one before; this one was emerald green silk with black satin sleeves. Her hair was loose and brushed, seemingly extra shiny that day. Her amber eyes shone with excitement, but something in them was bothering Harry. The psychotic, dangerous look had always been there, but it was becoming brighter and clearer every day. Maybe he was biased, but Harry was sure it was those Slytherin influence.

"Well, I'll see you next term I guess." she said not meeting his gaze. Harry nodded, not quite sure what to say. The two had never actually been properly apart for more than a few days since they'd first met.

"I got you a present." she produced a neatly wrapped gift and gave it to Harry. It was heavy, which meant it probably was a book of some kind but Harry was pleased all the same.

"I'll send you yours with Hedwig." Harry gave her a quick hug before Celeste left the compartment looking over her shoulder as if she wanted to say more. Harry watched her get off the train and walk over to the blonde Malfoy family. She kissed her aunt on the cheek and awkwardly hugged her uncle. Only he wasn't looking at their interaction, he was staring at her feet.

When they were 9, Celeste had been looking through some old shoes at a charity shop and found a pair of beaten up combat boots. They were quite old, the last owner had clearly walked halfway around the world with them and they were 4 sizes too big but Celeste had fallen in love with them completly. Since that day Harry had never seen her wear anything else, no matter where or what.

So when he saw the paten black heals, a small part of Harry realised he was losing his Celeste forever.

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><p><strong>Tiny chapter here before the next one which is the Christmas. Now I know some of you might hate me now, but the point of this story is that the two start strong, drift apart and then when Voldemort and the LeStranges return they start to come together more. The final pairing will be Celeste and Harry but there will be strong HarryHermione and Celeste/Blaise in the middle.**

**At the moment I see this going one of two ways.**

**Harry and Celeste agree after Christmas that the two should act like they are no longer friends for their safety, but remain close in secret. Then when fifth year comes around they start leaning towards opposite sides of the war and grow apart before coming together and falling in love later.**

**Or**

**They remain close for another year or so before they actually fight for real and Celeste turns dark and Harry becomes a hero. Then when they are older their paths cross again and they start to fall in love, despite having not spoken for years.**

**PM me or say in the reviews which story you'd rather read or if you think it should go an entirely different way. I love you all for reading and reviewing.**

**Please Review!**


	14. Chapter 13

**Right so at the moment it seems the first option is more popular from the PMs I've received and your reviews. I have decided to go with that one, although I may tweak it slightly and I may (not quite sure yet) put off the point where they pretend to stop being friends and make it like second or third year. Thank you so much for your reviews, keep them coming!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 13<span>**

After a week with the Granger's, although Harry still missed Celeste, he was having too much fun to be upset about it. The Christmas break was only two weeks and a half weeks long, and Christmas day fell on the Wednesday of the second week so the family spent the first day at home decorating. Christmas at Gateshead had been very hectic and not too special. The carers and Mrs Harris tried their best, but the staff weren't really into it as they would sooner have been spend their Christmas at home with their own families and friends. The decorations were probably as old as the orphanage itself, and the tree was pathetic, covered in broken ornaments and strange objects such as toothbrushes and crayons added by the younger children. The food was plain, the cheapest they could buy and usually cold by the time you'd fought your way to the table. Harry and Celeste had always been shoved to the back of the group, since no one liked them. Presents hadn't been great either. Each child got one new item of clothing, fresh from the shelves of Primark. Then they got a medium sized item that the carers thought they'd like, and probably came from poundland. It wasn't great, but in a strange way, Harry sort of missed it. He still preferred Christmas with the Grangers but he had spent all of his Christmas's but one at Gateshead and it was a bit weird.

The Grangers made Christmas awesome. Harry didn't know how else to put it. Mrs Granger was very warm and welcoming, fussing over him none stop and asking questions about his life like she really cared. Mr Granger had been slightly weary of him at first, but soon warmed up to him and talked to him about the wizarding world, or what Harry knew about it so far. They had an action packed week, the Grangers taking Harry everywhere he'd missed out in his limited childhood. They went ice skating, swimming, to theme-parks and restaurants. Then at the weekend it snowed heavily and they spent the days outside in the yard until their noses were red, their fingers were numb. They came inside trailing snow all over the kitchen with flushed cheeks and bright eyes. Mrs Granger placed two steaming hot chocolates in front of them as they took off their outdoor clothes.

"Oh Harry, a letter came for us today!" Mrs Granger said, pulling out a piece of parchment "It's from your headmaster. He says he's going to come over tonight to talk to you about something. We said that was fine"

Harry choked on his hot chocolate and Hermione had to thump him on the back. Mrs Granger looked concerned.

"I'm sorry, what does he want to talk about?"

"Probably my friendship with Celeste" Harry said glumly and the smile slipped from Hermione's face. Mrs Granger bent over and leant her elbows, her head in her hands as she stared intently at her daughter's best friend.

"Who's Celeste?" she asked carefully.

"She's our friend. I've known her forever. We live in the same orphanage." Harry said in an evenly flat voice, but Mrs Granger saw the way his eyes lit up.

"Why is Professor Dumbledore coming to talk about your friendship?" Mrs Granger asked again.

"Well… Celeste is the daughter of two very powerful dark wizards. They're currently in prison for torturing two people to beyond insanity. Everyone thinks that she's just like them, pure evil, just because she looks exactly like her mother" Hermione explained.

"And is she?"

"No!" Never!" Harry insisted but he couldn't quite meet Mrs Granger's eyes. When she gave him a look he admitted "OK, well Celeste is a bit of a psychopath. But only slightly. She just sometimes goes a bit funny and does bad things with her magic."

Mrs Granger stood up and put the now empty mugs in the dishwasher. "Well" she smiled "If that's all then I'm sure all you need to do is explain to Professor Dumbledore. He'll be here at seven!"

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><p>Celeste liked Malfoy Manor. It was big and luxurious and her family were lovely towards her. Her aunt took her shopping in London and other places to buy a whole new wardrobe for school, although Celeste kept some of her old Muggle clothes, just in case. Her uncle began to teach her all about her family and wizarding politics, explaining how they were the highest of the wizarding aristocracy and very rich and powerful. She spent her days with Draco, running around the grounds and sneaking into the kitchen, no need to pretend that they were mature and respectable at home.<p>

Celeste missed Harry, and surprisingly Gateshead, even though Christmas there was nothing compared to it at the manor. She wrote to Harry and he replied, telling her all about the fun Muggle activities he was doing with Hermione. When she read about ice skating and swimming and theme parks she was hit with a sudden strike of jealousy. It burned in her chest even though she couldn't quite figure out why and made her ball up the parchment in anger, chucking it across the room with a scream.

Who did that mudblood think she was, going out and doing things with _her _Harry? Celeste backtracked her thoughts a moment and considered what had just crossed her mind. Since when had Harry been hers? And why couldn't he go out and do fun things with Hermione and her family if she'd basically ditched him for the Malfoys? Also, Hermione was one of her closest friends, why would she call her a mudblood? Celeste felt that she was the only family Harry needed, but she'd abandoned him this Christmas for people she barely knew, just because they said she was related to them.

A knock on the door brought Celeste back to her senses and realise she was shaking. Quickly compassing herself, Celeste stood up and said "Come in." Draco came in the door and grinned.

"Shall we go explore the dungeons?" he offered and Celeste smiled and nodded "First, my dad wants to see you, I think it's about Potter." He led her down dark corridors and flights of stairs until they reached Lucius Malfoys study. He knocked three times, before her uncles sharp voice called "Enter"

The office was square, with the wall opposite the door bearing three tall windows that overlooked the front drive. Shelves lined the wall the door was on and on the wall the windows were on, that contained strange artefacts and a few books. On the wall to the left of the door as you came in was a large fireplace with two armchairs and a small table set in front of it, and in front of the other wall was a large desk. Mr Malfoy sat there now, writing something with a large quill. Celeste crossed the room and stood in front of the desk in silence, waiting for him to speak. After a few minutes he put the quill down and looked up at his niece.

"Ah, Celeste, I wanted to talk to you!" he said "Draco has informed us of your… friendship with Harry Potter" his lip curled at the name.

"Has he now?" Celeste said as politely as possible through gritted teeth.

"Yes he has. Now I must tell you that you simply cannot be friends with him." He informed her like it was the simplest thing in the world.

"Why? Look, Uncle, he's my best friend. I've known him forever. I know that had we both not gone to Gateshead I would hate him but I don't and there's no changing that. I- I…" she trailed off, unable to say what she wanted to. _I love him. _She knew it was true, but couldn't bring herself to admit it. Not to people who might take him away from her.

"Child, your parents," Lucius tried to say but he was swiftly cut off by Celeste interrupting him with her own opinion once more.

"I know who my parents are and what they did. I also know what they would think of my friendship with Harry but let's face, my mum and dad have been pretty crappy parents for the last ten years. I know they had their reasons, and I forgive them for that, but it still doesn't change anything. I won't lie to you and I say I'm not disturbed by what they did to the Longbottoms, but I also couldn't say I wasn't proud of them, even though I was raised to believe what they did was completely wrong. I think you forget that even though there are dark parts of me and a can behave like my mother; I was raised in the Muggle world. My opinions of certain things are different. I want to get along with you Uncle Lucius, but that is how I see things and I am warning you, I am seriously stubborn. I'm not dumb and I like this world. If you try and force me to think one way I will stay closed minded and refuse to see any other possibility. However, if you are patient, I might eventually start to agree with you. Harry has been my companion for most my life and no matter who you are, what you say, nothing but time and Harry himself will change my opinion of him."

Lucius listened to his niece in stunned silence. Had it been Draco, he would have immediately snapped at him for being insolent, but this child was different. Lucius hadn't really gotten on with Bellatrix, but he had been great friends with Rodolphus. This girl was her mother in looks and a lot of attitude, but after a few days of careful study it became more obvious that she was not just a copy of Bellatrix LeStrange. There were parts of Rodolphus in her, the wit and logic. As she stood there and reasoned with him, producing and passionate speech off the top off her head, while not revealing how she felt through her eyes at the same time made her seem very like her father. Bella wasn't patient enough to think things through. She'd just curse the first thing that pissed her off. From what Draco had told him, Celeste would probably come to the same conclusion eventually but she put her point across first.

"Very well, you may go" Lucius finally said, and his niece exited the office. Although he hadn't manage to convince her Mr Malfoy was pleased, very pleased indeed. Celeste LeStrange was only 11, and she already showed more power than her parents. She was undoubtly going to be on their side when the Dark Lord returned, and with Bellatrix's skill and passion and Rodolphus's brains, the LeStrange's daughter was going to be absolutely lethel.

**Please Review!**


	15. Chapter 14

**Hi guys, sorry it's taken a while to update, but I was on holiday and craziness has been happening to me. The ideas about magic in this chapter are my own and might not be the same as they are in JK Rowling's world, but I couldn't find any that she made up. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter **

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><p><strong>Chapter 14<strong>

Harry and Hermione were helping Mrs Granger clear the table and load the dishwasher when the doorbell rang, at exactly 7 o'clock. Mr Granger went to answer it while the two children exchanged glances and Mrs Granger immediately began to fuss over the mess in the living room. Adam Granger opened the door to see the strange man with the long white hair and bright purple suit standing on his doorstep.

"Hello, you must be Mr Granger" Dumbledore said pleasantly, his eyes twinkling "You said it would be fine if I came to speak to Mr Potter this evening, as I believe he is staying with you for the holidays"

"Yes, he is. Please come in" Mr Granger stood to the side and allowed the aged Professor to step into the hallway. He led him through to the kitchen where Harry and Hermione were waiting.

"Good Evening Harry, Hermione, Mrs Granger" Dumbledore nodded at them politely before saying "Now I don't want to intrude any longer then I have too, so may we get straight to it."

Mrs Granger was slightly taken aback by how forward he was but smiled and said "Very well, Hermione, Adam, we'll go wait in the living room." Hermione opened her mouth to protest but her dad placed a firm hand on her shoulder and led her out the room.

"So…" Harry said, trying to think of an argument in his head. Celeste had usually done all the talking whenever they had gotten into trouble, which hadn't always been the best idea considering her psychotic behaviour, foul mouth and tendency to use accidental magic on anyone who pissed her off. Given it gave them time to run off while everyone tried to figure out what was going on Harry couldn't really complain, but still.

"Now Harry" Dumbledore sighed "I have become increasingly aware of your friendship with Miss LeStrange. Now I-"

Harry heard the word LeStrange and pushed down the anger boiling inside and took a deep breath. "Sir, what exactly is the problem. I get her parents are evil, why does that mean that she has to be like that as well?"

Dumbledore didn't say anything only looked at the boy over the rim of his half-moon spectacles. Finally he said, "Do you know how you have magic?"

Harry was a bit surprised at the change of topic and shook his head.

"Every witch or wizard has a magical core in their soul. And that core releases tiny fragments of magical essence into their blood and DNA. That's how children of witches and wizards get their magical cores. Muggle-borns, such as Miss Granger, get their magical cores when their DNA mutates for some reason."

"OK…" Harry was confused "No offence, but how is this relevant?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly "Patience m'boy, I'm getting there. Now, anyone can perform dark magic, but depends on the force and emotion behind it that determines whether it is good or bad. I cannot say I have never cast those spells, but I try to do in protection and the good of others, which makes me light, while Lord Voldemort casts them to cause pain and gain power which makes him dark."

"OK. I see. So that's why Celeste core is dark because her parent's cores are."

"Not exactly." Harry raised his eyebrows but said nothing "Magical essence is not influenced by how dark you are, so every child is born with a pure magical core. Now the LeStranges are about as dark as they could possibly be. They cast dark spells for enjoyment and when Bellatrix was carrying Celeste, she went to new extremes. She became so dark, so awful, she became even more feared then Voldemort himself."

"That's not Celeste fault, she isn't her mother!" Harry didn't want to hear this. It was almost as bad as learning he was a hero in the wizarding world.

"I know. But the extent of evil that her mother went to… it changed her in one of the most horrific ways possible." Dumbledore watched Harry as he bounced impatiently in his seat "It altered her magical essence. It has never, ever happened in recorded history, but somehow Bellatrix LeStrange achieved it"

"Why is that so bad?" Harry was getting bored by this point.

"Harry, you don't understand. She changed the science of witches and wizards. It's not just a mutation, it's a physical change. One without reason. If we were mortals we'd call it witchcraft, which doesn't make sense since our world is fully capable of witchcraft but you see my point?"

"So what happened?" Harry asked. This sounded bad, so he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he knew he'd burst if he didn't find out.

"Well, when the child was born and her magical essence was added to her soul, her core rejected the magic from Bellatrix because evolution says her core had to be pure, and it was due to Rodolphus. So where do you think the magic went?" Dumbledore looked at Harry and answered his own question when he realised the boy had no idea. "It went into her blood. She has active magic flowing through her blood."

Harry felt he was probably expecting some kind of reaction, but he didn't really understand what the big deal was so his expression remained blank.

"I'm guessing you don't understand" Dumbledore and it took Harry everything he had not to say "Duh!"

"Celeste cannot be controlled. Her magic will never stop working, and both her parents and Lord Voldemort. He will inevitably return one day and if you are close to her there is no other outcome. She was born of evil and though she is young, she will turn. Her magic cannot be controlled and it cannot be changed. When her parents return, I doubt even she is strong enough to resist. It doesn't matter who she is now, her parents have some control over her, and her magic has complete control over her. I think you see what I'm saying, don't you?" Dumbledore watched as Harry read between the lines and figured out what he meant.

"You're saying… her magic makes her dark. And if she knows all the light stuff, it could be fatal for us… and her. The dark would win and Celeste would die!" Harry's eyes widened in horror as he came to this conclusion.

"Yes. However, you are both in with a better chance in your own worlds. I know I cannot convince you entirely Harry, but I feel you ought to know what you are up against." Dumbledore smiled slightly before saying "Merry Christmas" and letting himself out the house.

Harry put his head in his hands and fought back the tears, because at the moment, he could only see one option.

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><p><strong>Don't hate me and Please Review!<strong>


	16. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 15**

The castle in January was absolutely freezing, especially in the dungeons. Harry found his fingers were so numb ten minutes into a potions lesson he could barely hold the bottle of griffin blood he was trying to add to his potion. He didn't know how Celeste managed living down there, but either it didn't bother her, or she was still too stubborn to admit when she was cold. Harry felt a pang every time he looked at his best friend. She didn't know, she wasn't haunted by the knowledge that the two couldn't ever stay the way they were now. It seemed too harsh. They were only 11. Why should they have to give up what they had? Celeste was strong, but Harry knew it had been him that made her strong. Before they'd met, Celeste had been broken. She hadn't spoken to anyone and she was falling apart behind her brave face. Harry had changed that, and he was scared that if he severed ties with her she may be damaged beyond repair. Celeste hadn't really healed, but Harry had made her strong again. She was already dangerous, psychotic and downright crazy, and Harry really didn't want to see a broken little girl with dark magic in her blood loose it. It might mean the end of a lot of lives. Still, Harry would sooner she killed people then died herself, as awful as it sounded. He had to trust her to act rationally. She was dark and he was light. There couldn't be another way.

So that was how Harry came to the conclusion that he had to break off his friendship with Celeste LeStrange, even if it killed both of them. However, he was then faced with the issue of how to tell her. He couldn't do it in front of everyone; he didn't know how she'd react. His chance arose when he overheard Daphne Greengrass telling Pansy Parkinson that Celeste had gone up to the Astronomy tower alone, and headed up there in pursuit. He found her standing by the balcony, looking over the lake, the forest and mountains and valleys beyond. Her hair was straight with a few waves and sleek and shiny. She wore old skinny jeans and a tight red sweater. The Muggle clothes made harry see her more as the girl he'd run around causing trouble with when they were younger, rather than the sophisticated young lady she'd become. She turned and gave him a brilliant smile, the demented look dying for a moment. Harry knew he was the only who could do it.

"Hey scar-head!" she said "How you been?" she asked as he came and stood beside her. She shut the sketchbook in front of her as he approached. Celeste had been drawing for as long as Harry could remember, but he'd never seen any of her work.

"Hey" Harry sighed "We need to talk. About us."

Celeste turned and frowned at him "Us?"

"Yes. Celeste I love you more than anything in the world. Like really!" Harry said, absolutely no idea what he was gonna say.

"I love you too" Celeste whispered and grabbed his loose hand, suspecting where this was going. I couldn't be. She wouldn't believe it.

"So Dumbledore came to see me in the holidays, and he explained some stuff to me." Harry took a deep breath "Look Celeste there is no easy way to say this, but we can't be friends anymore. And you can never ask me why."

Harry braced himself for the explosion… but it never came. He looked at her, worried he'd sent her into shock, but she was perfectly still breathing and blinking normally. After a few minutes of silence she squeezed his hand and gave a hollow laugh. The sound was empty, cold and heartless, but Harry knew her well enough to know her heart was breaking.

"I know why. It's because of who I am. It's because of what I can do. I was wondering how long it would take Dumbledore to notice" she said, a strange tone to her voice.

"What do you mean? What can you do?" Harry asked uneasily. How could she possibly know? Unless she remembered, which was unlikely. Instead of replying, she let go of his hand and gripped the railing until her knuckles went white and Harry thought she'd rip it right off with much more force. Then she closed her eyes and the skies began to rumble and the clouds moved before there was a tremendous crash, deafening roll of thunder and a flash of lightning, all delivered with such force it shook the tower. The rain came pouring down as Celeste opened her eyes with a strange smile.

"I know its not normal, what I do. Its dark and no one else can do it quite like me. I don't need a wand for the power. It's because the magic is in my blood isn't it?" her voice shook slightly, but there was still the weird smile that said she was proud of her talent. Harry nodded, dumbstruck.

"We can't be friends, because they don't want you to tell me things. They don't want you to get attached. The adults. They always think they know best!" Celeste screamed it, but Harry could barely hear her over the storm. "But since when have we listened to the adults?"

"I don't want you to die!" Harry pleaded, desperate to make her understand.

"I won't. I'm scared Harry, and I'm not scared of anything! I'm so unsure of the future. People say he's coming back, returning. They say he'll bring my mum and dad back with him. I don't know. I don't know anything." There was a shine in her eyes. Something horrific, so awful that Harry doubted her for the first time in his life.

"I don't know either" he shouted over the skies.

"I know one thing though." Celeste said "And that is that I love you. No one's back yet. So even if we have to hide it from everyone, I'm not breaking you off until there's an actual threat. We're 11 for crying out loud, Harry! We can't know yet!"

Harry looked at her, and even though he wasn't sure he was making the right decision for her safety, stepped forward and said "Course. Us against the world. Right psycho?"

When he took her hand, the sky immediately cleared, and she rested her head on his shoulder. And when Harry looked at her, he saw something stronger in her eyes then the hate and terror. He couldn't place it, but he was sure it was in his eyes as well.

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><p><strong>So, there we go, they are going to stay friends in secret. The next three or four chapters will hopefully cover the rest of the first year, the second year and the third year before it lengthens out again. <strong>

**Please Review!**


	17. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter **

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><p><strong>Chapter 16<strong>

The news that Harry Potter and Celeste LeStrange were no longer friends spread around Hogwarts faster than a fire in a forest. They staged a very loud argument in the entrance hall one day before breakfast, and then went around saying they didn't know what they were thinking before. Only the two of them and Hermione knew the truth. Harry was happy. So long as they didn't get too involved with war plans, neither of them were in any kind of danger while being friends.

However, when you had to be friends in secret, the amount of time you spent together was reduced immensely. They met up in secret sometimes, but as the weeks went on, they saw less and less of each other. Harry and Hermione went to see Hagrid quite often and told him about Snape and the three headed dog. When he let slip about a man called Nicholas Flamel, they threw themselves into finding out who he was and what the dog was guarding. Meanwhile Celeste was having a genuinely fun time with her Slytherin friends. She and Draco were very close, disagreeing on very little and trusting each other completely. She was very popular with her house and in everyone else's eyes; she'd turned for the better. She became very educated and supportive of pureblood ideas, calling Muggles scum and people like Hermione mudbloods. She was walking properly, dressing properly and behaving properly most of the time, even though her magic was still far from controlled. Harry didn't like this version of Celeste, but it was better than not being friends with her. Besides he knew what she was really like, his scruffy, wild, lonely little girl.

Since most the school agreed Celeste was basically her mother and Harry was the hero of the wizarding world, they'd agreed that it was best to behave like they hated each other, and since they so rarely spent time alone together, there relationship became one of mainly harsh words, cruel jokes and secret smiles.

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><p>"How could I be so stupid?" Hermione came up behind Harry in the corridor, grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off towards the library one day at lunch when he was coming out of transfiguration.<p>

"Hello, it's good to see you too, how has your day been so far, mines been great!" Harry rambled as she yanked him by the arm into the library and over to a free table with a rather large book on it.

"I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading!" Hermione exclaimed, flicking through it.

"This is light?" Harry raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything else when Hermione gave him a look.

"Of course! Nicholas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosophers Stone!" Hermione said in an excited whisper and then paused dramatically. When Harry only looked at her blankly she continued "The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal." She read out loud from the book.

"A stone that makes you stinking rich and live forever, no wonder Snape's after it" Harry said after he'd figured out what it meant.

"This is it! This is what Fluffy's guarding on the third floor! This is what Snape's after! We have to tell Celeste!"

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><p>"Don't be ridiculous!" Celeste scoffed as she stacked up the books on Professor McGonagall's desk "The philosopher's stone? Why would they hide the only one left here?"<p>

"Because they knew someone was after it. And Hogwarts is supposed to be the safest place in Britain" Harry said as she picked up the broken quills on the desks. After a slight mishap in McGonagall class involving the feather they had been trying to turn into a pencil, Celeste's uncontrolled magic and a headless chicken. Needless to say, McGonagall had not been impressed and Celeste had been landed with the task of cleaning the classroom during lunch, and the teacher had placed a magic binding spell on the room, forcing her to do it manually.

"But Snape? Really?" she asked, still not believing her head of house was responsible for this supposed diabolical plan which involved killing Harry and stealing something.

"Well, who do you think is behind it?" Hermione asked.

Celeste thought for a moment before saying "Professor Quirrell." Harry and Hermione looked at one another and burst out laughing.

"Quirrell? That coward?" Harry snorted "He wouldn't go within ten miles of that dog!"

"So you think." Celeste snapped, not being a very patient person "He'd be the last person anyone would suspect!" When the two didn't reply she through her hands up in frustration and said "Whatever, get out! And keep me posted!" she called behind them as the left.

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><p>Harry wasn't quite sure how he got from that conversation with Celeste, to the three of them standing in front of a sleeping fluffy with Hermione singing softly, but it involved Hagrid, a baby dragon, detention, dead unicorns and Voldemort.<p>

Hermione continued to hum as they opened the trapdoor and peered down into the darkness. Celeste pointed her wand into the hole and whispered "Lumos maxima!" The room below filled with light to reveal a large twisted green plant at the bottom. Celeste only just saw it shrink back before the light faded.

"Devils Snare" she whispered and Hermione's eyes widened.

"What's Devils Snare?" Harry asked.

"It's a plant. It strangles you to death. It hates light though, so if we all cast that spell, we should have enough time to climb out" Celeste said and the other two nodded. They all crowded around the trapdoor, Hermione still singing, with their wands out.

"On the count of three" Harry whispered "1… 2… 3… NOW!" he shouted and they all jumped as Fluffy woke up, pointed their wands and shouted "LUMOS MAXIMA!"

The light was so bright it almost blinded them but thankfully it worked because when they hit the soft plant it made no attempt to attack them. The three children scrambled to the sides and made it just as the light faded. Above them the trapdoor swung shut and they all leant against the cold stone wall letting out very shaky sighs of relief.

"Do you here that?" Hermione said a few minutes "It sounds like… wings" They walked into the next room.

"Are they birds?" Celeste asked, staring up at the winged things flying around the room.

"No… they're keys." Harry said "And I'll bet you anything that one of them unlocks that door.

"Ok," Hermione said briskly "Given the value of the item these charms are protecting, it is highly likely that the keys will attack… therefore we need to stop them"

"Could you say that again, but not in geek" Celeste said and Harry sniggered slightly while Hermione pursed her lips. Then she whipped out her wand, pointed it towards the ceiling and shouted "Immobulus!" The keys froze in midair, a few of them floating slowly in a sort of daze. Hermione turned to Celeste with a triumphant look on her face, but the LeStrange girl did not look the slightest bit impressed.

"Now what?" Celeste asked, but Harry was already on the broom from the corner, scanning the air for a rusty old silver key. After a few moments he spotted it and grabbed it, only the minute he did the other keys started to attack him. Landing a broomstick while you're being attacked by hundreds of wicked fast, not to mention sharp, flying keys, is not at all easy.

"Catch it!" Harry yelled, ripping off the keys wings and hurling it towards Celeste. She jumped up, caught it and shoved it in the keyhole, twisting it to unlock the door before throwing it wide open. Harry flew through it, Hermione and Celeste ducked after him and they slammed the door shut, wincing as they heard the keys bang against the door.

Harry jumped off the broomstick and the three of them looked at each other. And then burst out laughing.

Hermione was genius. Celeste was powerful. Harry was brave. They all had different talents; they were all brilliant in their own way, despite only being 12, 12 and 11. However, none of them new the first thing about chess.

"You're supposed to be a genius right?" Celeste snarled at Hermione after five minutes of getting absolutely no where "So come on!" she threw her arms up "Do something!"

"Celeste!" Harry said sharply, thinking this was getting slightly out of hand.

"No she's right!" Hermione said and pointed her wand at the nearest white chess piece. "PERDERE!" she shouted but nothing happened.

"Binding spell" Harry said unhelpfully, giving Celeste an idea.

"Harry, Hermione, go back into the key room and don't come out, no matter what, until I say, got it!" she said walking towards the center of the chess board.

"Celeste…" Harry said but she shot him a reassuring smile. So the two went back into the now still key rom, Harry really hoping his best friend wasn't going to do something stupid.

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><p>Celeste had been absolutely terrified when she'd found out she had the power to do dark magic without a wand. So she had looked into it, got her cousin to bind her magic and experimented. She couldn't really control it. It just sort of happened, but she had done it a few times now (it was quite hard to practice discreetly when it caused such a disaster) and was fairly sure she could do it again.<p>

She stood in the middle of the room and stared at the white chess pieces. She needed to get rid of them. That meant either playing her way across the room, getting them to move or destroying them.

Voldemort or Harry would play their way, because they were heroes and villains. They were focused on the goal, and that was the fastest way to get it. Stopping to consider another way wasted time.

Hermione or the teachers would get them to move, because they were good. They found the most passive way possible and the thought of causing harm didn't cross their minds, because they wanted to stop the villains, at a small a cost as possible.

Celeste wasn't either of them. She was here to help Harry. And she was going to use her weird dark magic in her blood to achieve this. She was going to destroy them. She was going to blow these bloody white marble statues to dust. This magic was supposedly controlling her, not the other way round, but Celeste didn't care. No one controlled her.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Celeste clenched her fists by her sides and really tried to focus. It took her a few moments, but then she felt the blood rushing through her veins the sound of her heart beating in her head. She didn't know what it was but it burned through her, searching for escape so Celeste aimed it all toward the chess pieces. The chess pieces that were in the way. But as the power got stronger, Celeste wasn't thinking of Harry finding the stone. Those chess pieces were in the way of her and her lord. It got hotter and hotter, until she couldn't take it anymore. Her eyes flew open, she threw her head back and all around her the chess pieces exploded into dust with a deafening crash.

She wasn't a hero like Harry.

She wasn't good like Hermione.

She wasn't a villain like Voldemort.

She was psychotic, sick and evil like her mother.

This was the last thought that came to Celeste before she fell, and felt her head hit the cold stone floor.

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><p><strong>Please Review! Next chapter will be Celeste waking up and the summer.<strong>


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong>Chapter 17<strong>

Celeste was warm. So very warm. It was all clouds and mist inside her head and her bones ached. It was dark, and the familiar sounds of the water in the black lake lapping against the windows of her dormitory. Her dormitory? That felt right, as she felt the silk sheets from her four poster bed under her fingers, but hadn't been on a giant chess board a moment ago?

She sat up, and immediately regretted it when her head started pounding. What the hell had happened? Trying to ignore the pounding and aching, Celeste climbed out of bed. She was still wearing her uniform, which was torn, creased and one of the sleeves and shoulder of her shirt was stained bright red with blood. She felt around on her head but she couldn't feel a cut. Since their common room was under a lake, looking out of the window gave very little indication as to what time it was, but she assumed it was around mid-morning Saturday since the lake water was speckled with light, and Pansy was still snoring away in the bed to her left. Unlike the Gryffindor dorms, the Slytherins had rectangular rooms with three four poster beds and wardrobes, dressers and vanity's opposite them. Celeste dragged her feet over to her wardrobe yanked the door open and pulled off her uniform. The minute it hit the floor it disappeared, the house elves taking it to be washed. She pulled on a simple black dress and grabbed her black heals before running a brush through her curls. Checking her appearance in her full length mirror, Celeste was satisfied she didn't look like she'd had been fighting devils snare, flying keys and giant chess pieces so she went out of the dormitory and climbed the stairs up to the common room. She found Draco and Blaise sitting on the black leather sofas in the center of the room, the older years who usually occupied them outside enjoying the sunshine.

"Good morning" she said, sitting down next to her cousin and crossing her ankles "What time is it?"

"Around 11" Draco grinned "You missed breakfast, I got you strawberries" he handed her a bowel of sliced strawberries and cream. It wasn't the healthiest of breakfasts, but about a week ago Celeste had tried it and had it every morning since.

"Thank you" Celeste said picking up the fork. She was dying to go and find Harry and see what happened after she collapsed, but she knew she had to hang with the boys for a bit to avoid suspicion.

"So, you will never guess what happened last night" Blaise said as Celeste ate her strawberries. "Potter and the mudblood in Ravenclaw went down to the third floor corridor and faced Professor Quirrell for the philosopher's stone!"

Celeste raised her eyebrows. "Really?" she said "Even if that were true, how would you know? It's hardly the sort of thing Potter or the mudblood would live through, let alone brag about."

"Well, you're right, Dumbledore bailed them out and apparently '_What happened with the stone, Harry and Professor Quirrell is a complete secret, so naturally, you all have to know' _is what he said at breakfast this morning. Subtle much." Draco snorted "Mudblood's fine unfortunately, but Potter's in the hospital wing"

"Really?" Celeste's mind began to race as she said "So, how do you think you're exams went over all?"

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><p>"Oi Granger!" Hermione turned around to see Celeste coming down the stairs surprisingly steady for someone in heels. She thought her friend's voice was quite cold, but then she saw a few fourth year Hufflepuffs nearby and immediately whipped the smile off her face. It had been agreed that it would be suspicious for a Muggle-born like Hermione not to fear Celeste so the bushy haired girl had to act like she was terrified of her, which she was slightly. "We have to talk!"<p>

Celeste grabbed Hermione by the sleeve of her sweater with two fingers and a look of disgust on her face; making it clear to the onlookers she wasn't happy to be within ten feet of this girl, let alone touching her. She dragged her friend over towards the bridge and then let go once they were in a secluded spot.

"Hey!" Celeste grinned, her eyes glinting psychotically. Hermione tried to ignore it.

"Hey, how are you feeling? You had a pretty nasty cut on your head, but it healed almost straight away" Hermione said.

"Yes its gone." Celeste paused, unsure how to phrase the question she wanted to ask "Hermione… what did Harry tell you?"

"Nothing! I have no idea how those chess pieces disappeared" Hermione insisted, but Celeste wasn't convinced. All those years of never trusting made her very good at spotting lies.

"Right well." Celeste tried to think, but she still felt physically drained "What happened after I collapsed?"

"So we went into the key room, like you said" Hermione thought back to the night before…

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><p><em>"<em>_What's she going to do?" Hermione asked in a frightened whisper as the shut the door behind them._

_"__I don't know." Harry said putting his arm around her "But don't worry, she'll get us past those things. In the most impossible way."_

_"__She's strange…" Hermione said, careful with her words "I'm scared of her ever so slightly. But you can't tell her" Harry chuckled._

_"__Don't worry Mione; I'm slightly scared of her too. And she is strange. I love her so much…. But I do wonder how alike we really are now we come to Hogwarts" Harry's smile faded. "When we younger, we were a team. No one loved us, no one wanted us and we couldn't trust or rely on anyone. But we loved each other, we wanted each other, and we could trust and rely on each other."_

_"__You're still like that" Hermione said adding 'mostly' in her head. _

_"__I guess…" Harry looked doubtful "But at Gateshead we didn't notice the difference between us. Here… she's dark, and psychotic and so dangerous. Every day she is becoming more deadly, but the worst part is, she hasn't changed at all!"_

_"__I… I don't understand" Hermione said and Harry shook his head, trying to explain._

_"__Seeing her… watching her as an outsider, makes me realize how she was exactly the same when we were growing up. Only, when it was just us, I could never see it. She was my Celeste. On my side." Harry explained slowly "It's the same. You see the way she treats everyone compared to how she treats the Slytherins. Celeste is really loyal, but only to people like her. When we met, we were in the same position, alone and unwanted which made us the same, and made us best friends. Those Slytherins, they accept and admire her for her dark tendencies. Until we came to Hogwarts I could never see it. Celeste is demented. She treats the rest of the world like scum, and is fiercely loyal her friends and family. Here, the Slytherins are who she's loyal to, and everyone else is scum"_

_"__Including you" Hermione asked timidly._

_"__No!" Harry shook his head vigorously as if he had water in his ears "She loves me, that's still clear. But… every time she does something murderous or psychotic, which is like every other day, she disturbs me, because I knew that was her all these years but I couldn't see it. But no matter what she does… I still love her"_

_Hermione smiled, but it went a moment later when there was and deafening grinding, crashing noise, that sounded like a building collapsing, coming from the chess room. Harry and Hermione looked at each other in horror, but neither dared enter the room until it was quite again. Then the slowly opened the door, and looked around in bewilderment. _

_The chess pieces were gone, with no sign of them ever having been there other than the piles of black and white dust where they had stood. The door on the other side of the room was wide open, but Harry wasn't look at it._

_"__Celeste!" he cried and knelt down beside her unconscious form. Her hair was over her colorless face and there was a large pool of blood around her head._

_"__Oh my god!" Hermione looked at her friend in horror "What do we do?"_

_"__Don't worry" Harry said in a shaky voice "She'll heal herself in about an hour. We just need to get her back to her dorm" He was pulling aside the collar of her shirt to reveal a long silver chain and a green gem at the end._

_"__What's that?" Hermione asked._

_"__Her uncle sent it to her for her birthday. It's to keep her safe. I think I can use it to get her to her bed." Harry explained as he rubbed the emerald between his thumb and forefinger. _

_"__What?" Hermione was confused._

_"__It takes her wherever she needs to go. I just hope it's charged"_

_"__Charged?"_

_"__The brighter the gem, the further it will take you." Harry said, and thankfully the gem was gleaming. _

_"__How do we get it to work?" Hermione asked._

_"__I'll put it in her hand, whisper in her ear, and pray it works" Harry said, wrapping Celeste's cold fingers firmly around the stone and leaning over to whisper her destination in her ear. He then stood back, and both he and Hermione held their breath as at first nothing happened, then Celeste started to shimmer, and disappeared. _

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><p>"We… we used your necklace to get you back to your bed. Then Harry said you wouldn't want anyone to know you were involved so he sent me to get Dumbledore and he went on. I've not seen him since" Hermione told Celeste, coming back to reality.<p>

Celeste nodded and hugged her friend "Thank you, I'm glad you're ok!"

"Right, well come on!" Celeste said brightly after a few moments, leading her down a path that was nearly always deserted.

"Where are we going?" Hermione asked, following.

"To go see Harry!" Celeste yelled happily and broke into a run.

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><p><strong>I meant to put the conversation with Harry and the summer in this chapter, but I was struggling to write this one so it will have to wait till next time.<strong>

**Please Review!**


	19. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong>Chapter 18<strong>

"Please!" Hermione begged "Just five minutes!"

"No!" Madame Pomfrey refused, hands on her hips and lips set in a hard line "He needs _rest_!"

"He's in a hospital bed, how much more rest does he need" Celeste snapped, giving the medi-witch a glare so fierce in made the woman who was over 40 years older than the child in front of her want to run as far as she could from her, but she knew that wasn't the most practical of options, so she stood her ground.

"I need him to remain relaxed!" Madame Pomfrey turned towards Hermione and tried to ignore Celeste's burning gaze on her back.

"We- I will keep him relaxed!" Hermione insisted "I have a right to see him. I have to know what happened!"

"Well I can see why Miss Granger could be made exceptions to the rule this once, however I see no reason why you should be here Miss LeStrange" Madame Promfrey's nostrils flared "I was under the impression that you and Mr. Potter were anything but friends at the moment!"

"Oh please" Celeste said scornfully "I have no interest in knowing how well Potter in recovering, or what happened down there. I'm only here because Professor Snape insisted that I come and tell him what he will miss in Potions next week, since he will apparently be in there until the end of term."

"I can tell him for you. Or Miss Granger"

"Why bother I'll be in and out in five minutes tops!" Madame Pomfrey studied Celeste carefully, trying to spot any hidden intentions. Her story seemed plausible, and the girl really did look like she couldn't care less about how Mr. Potter was doing.

"Fine! Five minutes!" she caved and marched off into her office muttering to herself.

* * *

><p>"HARRY!" Hermione shrieked when she saw him sitting up in his bed and rushed forward to wrap her arms around him in a stone grip.<p>

"Erm Hermione" Harry laughed "I'm fine!"

"Tell us everything!" Celeste demanded "Quickly, before Madame Pomfrey becomes suspicious!"

So Harry told them how he went and found Quirrell in front of a weird mirror which put the stone in his pocket when he looked in it, and about Voldemort living in Quirrell's turban, and about how whenever Quirrell touched him, his hands would burn. Hermione gasped and squealed in all the appropriate places, but Celeste remained silent throughout the whole thing. When Harry had finished explaining the wards his mum had left on him, Celeste rose and handed him a piece of parchment with next week's potions notes and homework on it. Then she said "I'd better go, Draco and I are going to walk around the lake."

She headed towards the door but Harry stopped her by saying "Hey! What's wrong?"

Celeste paused and looked back. She smiled, but it was really fake and didn't reach her eyes. "Nothing. I'm really glad you're safe." Then she left, leaving Harry with a sinking feeling.

* * *

><p>"What's wrong?" Draco immediately asked as she approached him in the entrance hall.<p>

"Not here" Celeste murmured and they took off in the direction of the forbidden forest. She started a conversation about something else until they reached the edge of the forest when she turned to her cousin with a strange glint in her eye.

"What do you think of the Dark Lord, Draco?" she asked him, getting straight to the point.

"I think he's going to come back someday. And that he's going to beat Potter and Dumbledore" Draco said without hesitation.

"Good. And will you join him?"

"Of course" Draco said "What else would I do?" his brow furrowed, so Celeste laughed, and said

"Never mind. What were you saying before?"

She could see it, even if he didn't yet. The doubt, the fear behind his eyes. Yes, he would certainly join, but not because he really wanted to. She had him to a certain extent, but at the same time she was alone. Draco's cowardice would rule his judgement, and his judgment always ruled his magic. Celeste couldn't say the same for herself.

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><p><em>The man was tall, and terrifying. He was white, even paler then Celeste and her mummy. He had red eyes, and snake like feature. He wore black robes and no shoes. He spoke in a high pitched, scratchy sort of voice. It was cold. Celeste noticed her mummy copied him sometimes. <em>

_Her mummy and daddy would have him over, and they would sit in the long dining room, discussing plans with all those other men and woman Celeste had seen before, the snake man sat at the top, where daddy usually sat. Celeste would sit in her mother's lap, staying silent, and listening… although she didn't really understand. _

_All the other children were scared of him. He killed people, pointed his wand at them and made them write on the floor screaming in pain. Celeste's mummy did that all the time, so she was used to it. The snake man, however terrifying he looked, did not terrify Celeste. He fascinated her. She would watch him, eyes wide, as he paced back and forth. People would bend to his will, mummy and daddy adored him._

_They were in the dining room again, and her mother was very absorbed in what the snake man was saying about recruitments so she wasn't holding Celeste as tight as she should. In fact, Celeste managed to wriggle her way off her mummy's lap completely and onto the floor without her noticing. The table was very high, and when Celeste was up on her feet her head was miles away from the top. She walked, enjoying the view of people's legs and feet from below. She giggle with delight very quietly when she spotted her aunt Cissa's blue heels. Then very suddenly she walked into a very cold pair of legs. She wobbled slightly, but didn't fall, and looked up at whose legs they were. It was the snake mans and his piercing red eyes bore down into her wide amber ones. Celeste still wasn't scared, still was curious. _

_"__What about you Celeste?" he asked with a cold hiss. She felt his long cold fingers grasp her waist, then her feet were lifted off the ground and then she was sitting on his lap. It was quite uncomfortable, and still cold, but she didn't fidget. There was a very good view from this end of the table, all the faces looking at her. "Will you join our ranks once you are old enough?"_

_Celeste didn't really understand most of what had been said before, but she knew what this meant. She also knew the answer. So she opened her mouth and said the words she heard mummy say a lot, focusing very hard to get all the letters right. "Yes, my lord, of course"_

_"__Then it is decided!" His voice rang out through the manor "As soon as she is 15, Celeste LeStrange will be added to our ranks and be named the youngest death eater to have joined us" and then they were all on their feet clapping and laughing for her. Right in the middle her mummy and daddy were clapping and laughing, eyes shining with pride. The snake man lifted her up higher, then leaned forward and whispered in her ear "This is your world Celeste LeStrange. This is where you belong. Don't you ever forget."_

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><p>Celeste woke with a start her heart pounding in her chest. There was ringing in her ears, and her face was flushed. She was remembering. She could remember that clearly, as if it had only been last week. The Dark Lords words were spinning round her head, repeating themselves again and again. Almost as if he knew. Knew that there were risks. Risks that meant she might not always remember.<p>

She remembered. She remembered. She could never forget. She belonged to the dark. She was born to be at the top of the death eaters. And she would love that. Just one slight issue.

Harry.

She would never give him up, but he belonged to the light. He liked and trusted Dumbledore and the light wizards like Hermione. Well, he didn't care for idiots like Weasley, but that was different. He didn't like them because he insulted her. She imagined they'd get on very well if she hadn't been around. Harry detested the dark side and Celeste couldn't blame him. They'd ruined his life. But who had ruined hers? She shouldn't be living in an orphanage, she shouldn't have been raised in the Muggle world. Her life had been ruined as well. By who? The answer to that question also proved a lot of issue.

Harry.

If he hadn't destroyed Voldemort, Celeste would have been raised in the pureblood world with two parents who adored her, dark wizards to train her, and the dark lord raising her to have the world at her feet. And she couldn't say she didn't want that. Celeste was dark, and she knew that she would have made a completely different decision if she didn't have the magic in her, but she did and there was no changing that.

She was going to bring the Dark Lord back.

But she was going to give Harry a chance.

A chance to destroy her world again.

It wasn't fair. It was evil. It was the ultimate test.

The test to see how much Celeste meant to Harry.

And a test to see how much Harry meant to Celeste.

**Tell me if that didn't make any sense and I'll explain it in the next chapter what it meant if it doesn't.**

**Please Review!**


	20. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong>Chapter 19<strong>

A week at Gateshead was enough to drive anyone crazy. When you lived there, you had to get used to it, but after a year of living in a magic castle, sleeping in a four poster bed and having the finest cooked meals by house elves, the cold halls, narrow beds and plain food seemed unbearable. However, Celeste and Harry cherished every moment of it, since they were completely free. No pretense, no sneaking around, they were at liberty to be the best of friends, and after a day, it was like the whole year at Hogwarts had never happened. They treasured each and every day, since after Harry's birthday, Celeste was going to go and stay with the Malfoy's and Harry was going to the Granger's.

The days turned to weeks, with them running through the streets of London causing as much trouble as possible. One day they stood on Tower Bridge eating chips, talking about nothing in particular. It was the day before Harry's birthday, two days before they would go their separate ways, and both were trying to forget about it. It wasn't really fair, but they had to, to keep up the act.

* * *

><p>"You know," Celeste said, munching on her chips "We are probably the safest people on this bridge right now"<p>

"How do you mean?" Harry asked; thinking this was a weird thing to say.

"Well, if a Muggle fell off, they'd have to swim, or they'd drown. We'd be able to save ourselves quite easily" Celeste said, not taking her eyes off the murky water.

"Speak for yourself" Harry snorted "I can't do any magic, or the ministry would come and snap my wand, whereas no one would have any idea you did anything"

"I suppose…" Celeste said "But you know how every human has a survival instinct?"

"Yeah"

"Well, ours are enhanced by are magic, so we perform it by accident when we're in danger. Course, it wears off as we get older" Celeste said, polishing off the last of her chips and chucking the bag in the river.

"Well thanks for that random fact" Harry grinned and copied her.

"OI!" a random Muggle policemen yelled "You can't chuck stuff in the river! Where are your parents?"

Both Celeste and Harry grinned at each other before running off, Celeste yelling things that would have landed her in detention for a year had a teacher heard her.

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><p>"Happy Birthday Scarhead!" Celeste dropped a four pack of Mars bars in front of Harry as he sat in the middle of the first flight of stairs. Harry looked at the gift lying in his lap for a second, the same as last year, the same as every year and for a moment it was still his 11th birthday, before everything changed. Because in that moment it was all the same, only as soon as he lifted his head and looked at Celeste nothing was the same. She was not the scrappy little kid she had been a year ago, but Harry was still touched that she had continued the pathetic childish tradition they had made together.<p>

"Thanks psycho!" he grinned and ripped the chocolate open as she sat beside him. As if she could read his mind she said in a hushed voice that as almost lost in the thundering sound of feet on the steps

"It's almost as if nothing changed. Like its last year again. But then you look at the details and realize nothing will ever be the same again"

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Harry stood up and said "Come on! What shall we do today?"

* * *

><p>When they arrived back that evening they went straight up to Harry's room while everyone at dinner. Celeste went to her room very quickly and Harry went into the empty boy's room.<p>

At least he thought it would be empty.

There sitting on his bed was a really odd looking creature. It had large, bat like ears and bulging green eyes the size of tennis balls, with a long thin pointy nose and wore an old pillowcase with holes for the arms and legs. Harry really didn't know what to think of it, let alone say to it so he just stared.

"Harry Potter?" the creature said in a strange, high-pitched voice.

"Yes" Harry just about managed to say.

"Dobby has come to warn Harry Potter of great danger, although he is a great and noble wizard and…" the weird little thing then began to ramble about how wonderful Harry was, making him get all hot in the face.

"Look, um… what are you?" Harry interrupted his little speech and the thing sat up straight.

"Dobby is a house-elf, and Harry Potter must not return to Hogwarts!" Dobby said.

"What? No! That's so dumb! I have to go back, I can't stay _here_! Look-" Harry began to argue but he was interrupted by the house elf.

"It is not safe! We have no time, she is coming! Dobby must protect Harry Potter. You must give your word that you will not go back!"

"Who's she? Voldemort hasn't got a sister has he?" As soon as Harry said the Dark Lords name Dobby shrieked and jumped a foot in the air.

"You say his name! You- you" the elf looked ready to pass out "she is only around the corner, she must not see me, she is coming! There is danger! She is coming! Your word Harry Potter"

"Do you mean… Celeste?" Harry asked slowly "She's not a danger to me, although it might look that way, I guarantee it"

"She is dark, there is a plot. She is too powerful, even for elf magic! Terrible, terrible things will happen at Hogwarts!" Dobby was getting awfully muddled, but there was no time because Celeste footsteps could be heard in the hall.

"Please, please do not go back to school!" Dobby begged before he disappeared with a loud crack, just as Celeste swept in through the door.

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><p><strong>Please Review!<strong>

**Again I want to ask for your opinion on how you thing the second year should go. I already know how it is mainly going to play out but I want to know: **

**Should Celeste** **know about the Chamber of Secrets plot with Tom Riddle and start working on her plan to bring back Voldemort through that?** Or **Should she be like Malfoy and only know the history, and be working on her plans through other sources?**

And

**Should Harry and Ron become friends? I don't have anything particularly against Ron, and now that Harry and Celeste are supposedly worst enemies should they start to get along?**

**Pm me or leave your opinion in a Review! **


	21. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 20**

Harry and Celeste didn't see each other until the start of term feast in September. Even then it wasn't more than a glace and a quick smile. Then Harry turned back to his conversation with the Weasley twins and Hermione about this year's pranks and classes while Celeste returned to whatever it was she and the Slytherins talked about.

Harry hoped to catch up with her really quickly before they went to bed, but Ron Weasley intercepted him in the entrance hall, and Celeste disappeared down the path to the dungeons. He sighed and turned to the ginger haired boy, wanting to just go to bed. However, Ron held out his arm to stop him when Harry made to push past him.

"What do you want?" Harry asked irritably, looking up at Ron's freckly face.

"Listen, Harry" Ron said awkwardly "I just wanted to say, I think you and I got off on the wrong foot. I mean, I didn't know how close you and LeStrange were and you didn't know what a psycho she was..."

"I've always been aware that Celeste was a psycho thank you" Harry replied coldly, ducking under Ron's arm and joining the flow of students going up the stairs. Ron was by his side in an instance.

"OK, so maybe psycho is the wrong word, but you know what I mean" the boy amended "Look, Harry; I really would like to start the year as mates rather than enemies. We got on really well before the LeStrange thing happened and let's face it, you could do with some normal guy friends"

Harry stopped and spun around to look him in the eye. He was about to say that wasn't true, before he realized Ron was right. Harry's only two proper friends were Hermione and Celeste, one of which he had to pretend to hate. He'd been here a year, and since Hermione spent most her time with the Ravenclaws Harry could probably do with some people to hang out. Still, he hadn't forgiven Ron for his words on the train.

_'__That's not entirely true is it?'_ a small nagging voice said at the back of his head '_You're still loyal, but you can't deny they have every right to assume she's like her mother, even now'_

Harry pushed the thoughts away from his mind, swallowed and said "Yeah, sure"

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><p>Harry ran down the corridor listening to the voice. "<em>Rip, Kill, Tear" <em>it said while Harry followed it down the second floor corridor. Hermione ran behind him, not sure what was going on. Harry skidded to a halt after going round a corner, because the floor was flooded with water.

"Moaning Myrtle must have flooded the bathroom again" Hermione concluded "Come on Harry, you're scaring me!" she tugged on the sleeve of his robe, however Harry ventured onward not bothered that his trainers were getting soaking. He came around the corner and took a step back in shock. There, written on the wall in red paint or blood (Harry really hoped it was the former) were the words _the chamber of secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware. _Below it hung a still, small creature that even form this distance was unmistakably Mrs. Norris, Filtch's cat. Still, it wasn't that which shocked Harry. It was the fact that below the cat stood Celeste. Her robe lay discarded in the water and her heals were all that protected her feet from being wet, yet her right hand, which was reached up towards the still form, was stained bright red.

"Celeste?" Harry said in horror, and her head snapped towards him, wild, demented eyes boring into his own. Then she turned her head, looked at her hands and said, "They're coming!"

She pointed her wand at the robe and it disappeared, then she began to tug the necklace out from under her jumper.

"You-" Harry couldn't form a proper sentence.

"Believe what you like Harry, This wasn't me!" Then she clutched the gem and disappeared, leaving Harry standing by the words and dead cat while the entire school ran towards him.

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><p>If you could put up with the non-stop Quidditch talk, and the insensitivity to other people's feelings, Ron wasn't too bad. He taught Harry to play wizards chess, something he really wished he'd known before the battle last year, and lots of things about the wizarding world. He and Hermione were constantly at each other's throats, but Harry just about managed the constant bickering.<p>

Harry and Hermione were trying to uncover the mystery behind the chamber of secrets. Harry didn't want to believe that Celeste was the heir of Slytherin, but all of the evidence pointed towards her. Ron was curious as well but they didn't include him since although he liked him, Harry wouldn't trust him as far as he could throw him.

"How do we get her to admit it?" Harry asked as they left the History of Magic class in which Professor Binns had told them about the chamber. Celeste had been particularly interested, but then again so had everyone else.

"She's most likely to confess to you" Hermione pointed out as they headed towards the library. Harry shook his head.

"I know her too well. Also despite us being best friends, I'm light and she's dark. We tend to avoid telling each other things in that sense. It's our best chance for… later" he explained, looking away. Hermione didn't push the matter further; she knew how much Harry hated the fate Celeste had.

"Well, what about Malfoy?" she suggested "She'd tell him wouldn't she?"

Harry nodded slowly "Yeah, but how do we get him to tell? I mean he's not about to spill the secrets to the two of us"

"Don't worry" Hermione said, a wicked smile that was very unlike her creeping onto her face "I got it covered"

* * *

><p>Celeste was in a hurry to get back to the Slytherin common room. She had just found a new newspaper article in the library that could indicate Voldemort's location at lunchtime. She would have read it during History of Magic, which was the only class all the second years had together, but then Professor Binns had started talking about the Chamber of Secrets and that had been very interesting. Celeste wasn't dumb; she knew she was the prime suspect for the heir of Slytherin, so she was increasingly curious of course. She was running down the fourth floor left corridor when all of a sudden a small first year girl came hurtling out of the classroom and went crashing into Celeste. To her credit, she didn't fall, but the girl did and the contents of both bags spilled all over the floor.<p>

"Watch it!" Celeste snarled looking down into the wide, terrified eyes of Ginny Weasley.

"S-sorry" she stuttered, not liking the murderous look in Celeste's eye. It was lucky for her that Celeste had been in such a good mood and was able t get a grip of the magic inside of her before she cast another dark curse. After lots of practice, celeste was finally getting the hang of controlling her power, but it could still be fatal for anyone standing close when she got pissed off. Ginny quickly gathered up her things while Celeste waved her wand to pack hers away. Then Ginny backed up, before taking off into a run towards the Gryffindor common room.

Celeste was about to move on, when she noticed a small black book that Ginny hadn't picked up in her hurry to get away. She would probably just have left it there for someone else to find, if she hadn't spotted the gold letters printed on it. **T. **. Celeste picked it up and put it in her bag.

When she got back to her dormitory Celeste grabbed a quill, ink and sat cross legged on her bed with the diary on her lap. All the pages in it were blank, but Celeste knew there was probably more to it then it seemed. Thinking carefully, she wrote **_Hello Tom_**.

A few minutes later ink appeared on the line. **_Hello Ginny_**

**_I am not Ginny Weasley. _**Celeste scribbled, for once not caring how messy her handwriting was. She thought for a moment, before writing **_And I have a feeling you are more than just Tom Riddle_**

**_Oh _**came the reply**_ Who are you?_** **_And who do you think I am? _**

Without hesitation she wrote. **_My name is Celeste. And I know that you are Lord Voldemort._**

**_I see. And what are you going to do about it?_**

Celeste stopped and thought for a moment. She could tell him who she was, and help him take over Hogwarts. She imagined that Ginny was probably being possessed, and that wouldn't be necessary with her. Didn't she want to bring the Dark Lord back? However she knew if he came back this way, he would be different. Drawn from her power, not his own, and ready to slaughter the entire school. No, this wasn't how she wanted to do it, not when she was still so unsure about herself and the monster inside her. She wrote

**_Nothing. Forget me. When someone next writes, it will be Ginny._**

Then she snapped the diary shut and jumped up. She wanted to bring him back, but if it was going to be like this it would be at the hands of Ginny Weasley. Let the little girl live with the guilt if Tom Riddle returned and all of Hogwarts lay dead her feet. That was if she survived.

**Please Review!**


	22. Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

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><p><strong>Chapter 21<strong>

Harry and Hermione were staying at Hogwarts for Christmas, as were Celeste and Draco. Hermione had said no more on her plan to get Malfoy to admit to Celeste being the heir of Slytherin, but she did keep disappearing to the second floor for several hours a day. Finally, a few days before Christmas when the snow was falling thick, she rushed up to Harry who was playing chess against Dean Thomas in the Great Hall.

"Come with me!" She ordered and dragged him out of the hall, not even giving him time to apologise to a bewildered Dean. She dragged him all the way up two flights of stairs and towards Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Hermione, what is going on?" he shouted once there was only a depressed ghost to over here them.

"Its ready!" Hermione sang, and kicked open the door to the nearest cubicle to reveal a boiling cauldron on the toilet seat. Harry raised his eyebrows unimpressed.

"Er, what is this?" Harry asked, while Hermione bounced onto the balls of her feet with a excited grin on her face.

"Its Polyduce Potion!" she said "it allows you to take the form of somebody else for an hour" Harry's eyes immediately lit up and his face split into a huge grin. "Hermione that's genius!"

"All we need now is some hair. I was thinking Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson. Pansy is Celeste's best girlfriend and she's really involved in death eaters. Zabini is Malfoy's best mate so they will tell us if we look like them" Hermione grinned. "We just need to knock them out for an hour while we go into the common room."

"OK!" Harry jumped up and gave Hermione a hug "We'll do it tonight!"

So, at dinner that evening Harry crept over to the Slytherin table underneath his invisibility cloak and slipped a sleeping potion into Pansy and Blaise's drinks. It would take about 15 minutes to kick in, and thankfully the two were alone when they collapsed in the hall way. Harry and Hermione dragged them into the broom cupboard and stole their hairs, shoes and Slytherin ties and badges, before running off towards the bathroom. Hermione poured the potion into two glasses, and they added the hairs. Zabini's hair turned the potion a deep green while Parkinson's turned a sickly pink colour.

"One, Two, Three" the two said, before drinking. In a few minutes both resembled the two Slytherin students. They changed, and quickly headed down to the dungeons. They were just getting lost when Celeste and Malfoy came around the corner, talking and laughing.

"Hey!" Celeste said with a smile. "Where'd you go?"

"Just got tired, for a minute there" Hermione said in Pansy's posh voice.

"Okay then" Malfoy said slowly before he and Celeste lead the way down the cold dungeons towards a wall at which they stopped and Celeste said "Pure-Blood"

The wall opened to reveal a passage which they walked down before they entered the Slytherin common room. The two in front marched straight over to the black sofas by the fire where a few third years sat. Harry expected they'd just be dismissed but as Celeste approached and Draco fell back a bit they all stood up and moved over to some armchairs further away. Harry saw a mixture of respect and fear in there eyes as they looked at Celeste who sat down on the sofa next to her felt a pang of something inside of him when he saw the psychotic glint mixed with genuine belonging in her eyes. No matter what, from this day on, Harry could never deny that Celeste belonged in this world. Harry and Hermione sat opposite them, knowing the clock was ticking and they should get a move on.

"So, Cel, how's the research going?" Draco asked, turning to look at her.

"Fine" she drawled "Nothing too interesting, just what Professor Binns said in class"

"You're researching the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry blurted out without thinking. Celeste's eyes narrowed.

"Yes" she said "I told you that this morning Blaise"

"Oh" Harry felt really stupid "I guess I forgot."

"Well, I heard that people reckon Potter is the heir of Slytherin" Celeste said, eyeing Harry suspiciously "As if!"

"Hmm, well people more over think it's you!" Hermione said. Celeste sighed and said dreamily

"I wish it were me" Celeste said wistfully and Harry felt both happy and sick. "Anyway, I'm off to bed. See you tomorrow!" she rose elegantly and headed of in the direction of the dormitories.

* * *

><p>After that the rest of the year seemed to whizz by. More Muggle-borns were petrified, and Professor Sprout started to grow mandrakes to heal them. Harry and Hermione were no closer to working out who the heir of Slytherin, although Celeste was still the main suspect to most the students and staff. Harry discovered he was a parcelmouth one day, sending rumours around the school and then one day Hermione found a diary belonging to Tom Riddle in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. When Harry wrote in it, Tom showed him how it was Hagrid who opened the chamber half a century ago and soon after both Dumbledore and the gamekeeper were taken from Hogwarts. The diary was stolen from Harry's dormitory, and then Hermione was petrified, stumping Harry completely. He knew she'd be ok in the long run, but now he was stuck trying to solve this mystery alone.<p>

The end of the year crept nearer and Harry knew that if another student was attacked they'd close Hogwarts for good. One day Harry was in the library, not really looking for anything in particular, just something to ease the boredom. Ron was still struggling with a particularly pointless essay set by Lockhart at a table somewhere, and Harry decided to escape his annoyed groans and constant complaints. Somehow he found himself wandering into a completely deserted part of the library, and had a very sudden impulse to walk away when he saw Celeste sitting alone out of the corner of his eye. He turned around to go and speak to her, but for some reason he found it nearly impossible, as if something inside of him really wanted to just walk away.

"Celeste?" he called out and his friend looked up in surprise. Then she slammed her book shut, smiled slightly and picked up her wand, waving it and muttering something. Immediately the feeling went away, so Harry guessed she must have cast some spell to make people leave her alone.

"Hey" she grinned, moving her bag off the chair next to her making room for him to sit down "How have you been?" she asked as she replaced the spell.

"OK I suppose" Harry shrugged "Trying to shake off the rumours mostly." Since it had been discovered Harry could speak to snakes, something Salazar Slytherin had been famous for, many more people were suspecting Harry was the heir.

"I wouldn't worry" Celeste said, pushing her curls back "As long as I'm around, you're getting off lightly"

"That's true I suppose" Harry said "What are you doing here?"

"Research." She replied vaguely "How's Hermione?"

"Still petrified. I just wish I knew who was behind all these attacks" Harry sighed as Celeste stacked her books.

"Ginny Weasley" came the indifferent reply, as if she were merely stating the weather.

"What?" Harry laughed "That's the dumbest accusation I've ever heard!" Celeste raised her eyebrows at her friend and considered dropping it. _Oh what the hell _she eventually thought _it's not like he can save her if I tell him._

"It's true" she insisted "She has a diary. A diary that has a part of Voldemort in it. She writes in it and it writes back, possessing her."

Harry thought back to the diary he had found. It had been stolen. By a Gryffindor. "Oh my God!" he jumped up "We have to tell the teachers!"

"Like they'd believe you!" she scoffed "Besides, you're too late. Tom took her down to the chamber about an hour ago"

Harry felt sick. How did she know all this? Frankly he didn't want to know. Then Professor McGonagall's voice sounded through the school.

"All students return to their dormitories immediately!" she said. Celeste started to pack her books and hauled the bag onto her shoulder.

"They've found her message and discovered she's missing. Lockhart's gonna go down to try and save her, but he'll die trying" Celeste said in a soft voice. Harry gritted his teeth. He had no loyalty or enormous love for the Weasley family, but he couldn't just let Ginny die. Celeste would never take this to the Professors, and they wouldn't believe him if he went. No, he had to do this himself.

"We're going to help him" he said determinedly, grabbing Celeste's wrist and dragging her out of the library.

"We?" Celeste asked in alarm "Do you even know what's down there?"

"No, but I can't let Ginny die" Harry said.

Celeste was about to ask _Why not? _When she realised this probably wasn't a very good response, one not even Harry could make an exception for. Instead she allowed herself to be dragged to Professor Lockhart's office, trying to visualise the outcome of her decisions in her head.

* * *

><p>When she and Harry burst into their teacher's room they found him packing frantically. Celeste slipped into the shadows while Harry stepped forward.<p>

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked in a shaking voice. Lockhart turned bright red.

"Er… yes… sorry! Gotta go! Urgent call…. Unavoidable" he stuttered while pulling his pictures off the wall.

"But what about Ron's sister?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Trust me, no one regrets that more then I. But there isn't anything I can do about it"

"So you're running away? But what about all the stuff you did?" Harry was desperate. Celeste would take a hell of a lot of convincing on this one so he needed a skilled wizard. Then Lockhart dropped the bombshell.

"Oh Harry you don't really believe I did all those things do you?" he sighed. Then Celeste decided to step forward.

"That's it, isn't it" she said in a cold voice "You're a fraud. Come on Harry, I'll show you where the entrance is, but don't waste any more time with this coward. Then the two kids left the room, leaving the speechless teacher behind.

Harry had no idea what changed Celeste's mind about going down to the chamber with him, but as they stood by the edge of the hole where the sinks in Moaning Myrtles bathroom had been, he quite frankly didn't care. Celeste was shaking slightly, probably out of cold rather than fear Harry assumed, but then she held out her hand and whispered "Together?"

Harry smiled bravely and took her hand in his. "Together" he agreed, and they jumped.

Harry had never heard Celeste scream, but she did an awful lot of it as they slid down the filthy pipe. They finally arrived at the bottom, landing on a pile of rat bones. Celeste got to her feet and took a few steps, twisting her ankles in the heels on the uneven surface. She approached the large winding object in front of them.

"It's a basilisk" she said softly as Harry got to his feet. "That's its skin. If you see any sign of movement shut your eyes. If you look into a basilisk's eyes, you die. Those petrified must've only seen its reflection." She murmured.

Harry decided to take her word for it, since there wasn't time to get her to explain. They kept going, but it was taking ages due to Celeste's shoe problems. Finally she sat down on the filthy ground in frustration.

"Go on without me. I'll catch you up!" she said and Harry, though doubtful, went on.

**Please Review! I'm off for the summer now so I should be able to update more often.**


	23. Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 22**

Celeste pulled off the heals her aunt had bought her at Easter and inspected the damage. It wasn't too pretty. Her ankles were already black and swollen from being sprained and twisted as she tried to walk across the rocks and bones. It was a minor injury and the magic inside her was already working on healing them however the strap on the shoe was cutting deep into her heal, delaying the process. Celeste squeezed her eyes shut and focused on healing her feet. The rush of too much magic ran through her blood and in a flash it was as though nothing happened, although she felt slightly light headed. Deciding she was never going to get anywhere in the these shoes on this floor Celeste yanked her socks off and took a few deep breaths before getting to her feet. Her feet felt fine but the room started to spin and her vision went black around the edges.

"No!" She growled as she gripped the wall "Get it together LeStrange, Harry needs you. The Dark Lord needs you."

Then she walked on, even though her steps were sluggish and she was fighting consciousness. As she walked she contemplated her options. Harry was probably fighting the Dark Lord right now. She didn't know what the part of him was, but she wasn't sure if it would remember this. It was unlikely if they managed to kill it, still she wanted to help both Harry and Lord Voldemort.

If she saved Harry she risked the Dark Lord killing her and her parents. She'd risk her chance at being the youngest and greatest death eater in history. She risked the future that had been chosen for her, and the future she was choosing for herself. At least she thought she wanted that future.

If she helped Voldemort or Tom Riddle then Harry would die. So would Hermione and everyone else at Hogwarts. She could probably handle the deaths of all those Hogwarts students. In fact she'd probably enjoy it if she was completely honest. However she still wasn't sure enough of herself to know if she could handle loosing Harry. She loved him, and Celeste didn't really know love. She remembered it from long ago, that hazy memory with her parents by the fire, but Harry was her family, her world. She thought she loved Draco and his parents. She felt something for them. But she'd loved Harry for years. And no history, no destiny, no power could change that.

So she had to choose.

Harry or Tom Riddle.

Celeste fell down the ladder and grazed her cheek. She touched it and looked at the blood on her finger tips. Contaminated blood. Dark blood. Blood with the most evil magical essence in the universe. That was who she was. There was no changing that. That was who she wanted to be.

She looked up and saw Harry run out a tunnel towards the large Slytherin head. The basilisk slid out after him. The Phoenix flapped its wings up above. Tom whispered in parceltongue. Celeste smiled slightly and got to her feet, the adrenalin and grim determination replacing exhaustion for now.

Darkness, that was her choice.

Just not today.

She broke off into a run around the back, her mind racing to think of a way to stop that diary and save her best friend.

* * *

><p>Harry stood on Salazar Slytherin's eyebrow brandishing the sword of Gryffindor at the basilisk, really wandering what he was thinking when he decided to come and save Ginny. The first year was lying at Tom's feet, ghostly pale and her limp fingers clutching the diary. The basilisk was blind thanks to Fawkes, but that didn't stop it from taking a snap at Harry where it could smell him. Tom was right. He was going to die.<p>

He took a jump and landed awkwardly on the other eyebrow. He lost his balance and tried to grip the forehead but it was smooth and wet. He fell and just saved himself by catching the rock with his left hand. The snakes head swung by his legs and the sword of Gryffindor clattered into the water below, shining uselessly at the bottom of the pool. Harry tried to hoist himself up but knew it was no use as his fingers started to slip and he felt the monster's rank breath on his neck.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Celeste's voice shocked Harry as it came from above, but not as much as when his whole body floated upwards. It was rather a odd sensation, and Harry was barely focused enough to grab Celeste's hand that was waving in front of his nose the next minute. She yanked him forward and broke the spell, causing him to come crashing down on top of her. She groaned as her head cracked against the stone, causing a fresh flow of blood into her hair and down the side of her face. She only just had time to register that this was the first time since summer the two had been physically this close. Harry wasn't in much better shape but the two got to their feet in a hurry, too focused on the giant snake issue to really care about their injuries or how good it felt to be that close for the first time in about a year.

They scrambled over the top of the stone head and jumped down the other side onto the platform below. The snake could smell them, but couldn't figure out how to to them. They couldn't stay here, it would work it out eventually.

"What is it?" Celeste asked urgently, as they leant against the slimy wall panting and trying to catch their breath "The diary I mean."

"No idea. Piece of Voldemort" Harry said. "I'm more worried about the snake really. I lost my sword" He indicated to the pool of water below them. It wasn't deep enough to save them if they fell.

"I can't destroy it if I don't know what it is!" Celeste said in annoyed desperation "Did Tom say anything?"

Harry wracked his brain. "He said he possessed Ginny by writing back to her. She wrote and poured herself into it and he poured himself back, thus possessing her. That's how it worked." This was basically just a detailed version of what she'd said in the library, but something was nagging at the back of her mind.

"Poured what exactly?" She asked "What were his exact words?"

"She poured her soul into the diary, and the diary poured its soul back" Harry said really hope she had some kind of plan forming.

Celeste's head began to hurt. "That doesn't make any sense!" She muttered "It's a diary. An echo of the Dark Lord. It doesn't have a soul. It can't. Unless..." A feeling of dread swept over Celeste.

"Cel..." Harry waved a hand in front of her face. She was as white as a sheet and looked shell-shocked.

"Unless it is his soul" she whispered. She felt sick. Celeste was far from the best person on the planet. She was twisted, dark and pure evil, but a Houcrux? Not even she could begin to consider the idea. Harry watched his friend for a few minutes, thinking this was the last thing he needed. She eventually pulled herself together and gripped her wand tighter, saying "Accio sword" The sword of the Gryffindor flew into Harry's hand. Celeste bit her lip and her eyes flashed around. "Kill the snake. I'll deal with the diary" she ordered and then she started to climb her way around the statue.

"Right" Harry rolled his eyes "She says it like it's not a suicide mission." Then he went around the other side, determined not to drop the sword.

Celeste's mind was whirring but she tried to think her plan out logically. As far as she knew there were two ways to kill a Houcrux. Basilisk venom and fiend fire. The basilisk was currently trying to eat Harry which meant Celeste had to hope for the best when it came to the uncontrollable flames. That meant she also had to get the diary as far away from Ginny and them as possible, without blocking the exit. Ginny would wake up as soon as Tom died, and the basilisk would be distracted enough for Harry to kill it easily. It was not the most well thought out plan, but Celeste was pretty pleased with it considering it had been cooked up in two seconds and she was exhausted and hurt. Once she was low enough on the statue she jumped into the pool and got knee deep in water. She was quite glad she wasn't wearing her shoes as they would have been ruined, but was not quite so glad as she ran across the freezing floor barefoot. Tom turned a cold smile her way as she approached.

"Who are you?" He said, pointing Harry's wand at her. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm Celeste. I came to help you. You can trust me, I got the diary back to Ginny for you"

Tom immediately lowered his wand and Celeste knocked it out his hand, sending it skidding away. Then she grabbed the diary and threw it a far as she could into the dark parts of the chamber.

Tom opened his mouth to say something, but Celeste screamed "Fiendas!" And the curling flames shot out of the end of her wand towards the small black book. With both her ordinary and her darker magic combined in such a dark curse the Houcrux never stood a chance. Tom burned and the snake turned in confusion, giving Harry a chance to plunge the sword into its neck. He hitched a lift as the basilisk slumped to the chamber floor and ran over to where Ginny and Celeste were. He saw the diary in Celeste's hand, chard at the edges but still in tact and opened his mouth to ask how that was possible. Celeste had other ideas.

"Not now idiot, we have to run!" She yanked Ginny to her feet and the three children raced to the end of the chamber and climbed up the ladder and only stopped when they reached Celeste's shoes. Harry and Celeste both fell to the floor, finally feeling the extent of their injuries.

"Harry," Ginny fell down beside him sobbing "I'm sorry. Tom he was..." She was too upset to explain herself properly. Then she noticed Celeste. She went white. Harry noticed this and knew immediately what Ginny was thinking.

"Ginny" he said carefully "Celeste just saved us all. I know she's a LeStrange, but trust me, she is not trying to kill me or anyone else at this school. She is my best friend, has been for years."

Ginny's eyes widened. Then she fell forward and clutched Celeste sobbing "thank you!" Celeste went stiff, wanting nothing more then to throw the Weasel off but restraining herself. Finally she pulled away, still sobbing, now about getting expelled.

"How do we get out of here?" Celeste asked. At that moment the Phoenix flew out. He offered his claw to Harry who took it. Fawkes started to fly off with Harry, so Celeste grabbed his ankle and Ginny grasped her bare foot. Then they flew up the tunnel, Harry holding the sword, Celeste her shoes, and Ginny crying her eyes out.

* * *

><p>Fawkes was leading them through the school. The three kids shuffled behind whispering.<p>

"Ginny listen, Celeste and me have to act like we hate each other, so you can't tell anyone that we're friends. I'm asking you to keep my secret." Harry said staring earnestly into Ginny's wide brown eyes. She nodded.

"How are we going to explain this one Harry?" Celeste hissed, but it was too late. The door to Professor McGonagall's office swung open to reveal the head of Gryffindor house sitting with Professor Dumbledore, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Ron, Lucius Malfoy and a house elf.

"Mum!" Ginny cried.

"Uncle?" Celeste said.

"Dobby!" Harry said.

Everyone turned to stare at him when he said this. Harry looked at his shoes. The three of them must have looked a right state. Ginny was pale with puffy red and bloodshot eyes and had red paint down the front of her robes. Celeste's usually immaculate curls were a wild tangled mess, the bottom of her robes were soaking wet, her feet were bare and filthy, the right side of her face and neck was stained red from the cut on her hairline, she had grazes and dirt all over her face and hands and there were rips in her uniform. Harry was much the same, although he had more cuts and his shoes on.

Mr and Mrs Weasley rushed forward and wrapped their arms around Ginny. Then Mrs Weasley looked up.

"Thank you!" She cried, embracing Harry "You saved her!"

"Although" Mr Weasley said as he shook Harry's hand "I am curious to know what Miss LeStrange was doing in all this"

Everyone turned to stare at Celeste, who clenched her jaw. She and Harry exchanged a discreet glance.

"Yes" Mr Malfoy said icily "I would like to know this as well"

Harry nodded ever so slightly, and Celeste moved her head to the left a centimetre in response. Then they both started shouting at once.

"He tried to kill me!" She shrieked, glaring murderously at everyone in the room.

"She got in the way!" He yelled furiously.

"In the way?" Celeste scoffed spinning round to face him with her hands on her hips and a psychotic glint in her eye "You were the one in the girls bathroom!"

"It's not like I pushed you down the hole!"

"If you had waited for me to leave-" The bitter argument was brought to an abrupt end by McGonagal rapping her knuckles on the desk.

"Start from the beginning" Dumbledore suggested and Harry took a deep breath.

"I found a scrunched up piece of paper in Hermione's hand when visiting her in the hospital wing earlier today. It was on basilisks so I when I went to the library with Ron to do homework once I was done I decided to double check where I saw psycho over here" he gestured to Celeste who fought back a smile "She bumped into me and in her hand was a book on the chamber of secrets so I asked her if she knew what the monster was. She got irritated cuz she didn't and stormed off with everyone else as we heard Professor McGonagall's announcement. LeStrange'd let slip that Lockhart was probably going down since he said he knew how to fight the beast. I went to his office to tell him what I knew, but he was running away so I decided to go get Ginny myself."

Celeste decided this was a good place for her to enter this entirely made up story. Harry had only put her in earlier to match up with the basic facts that could be checked out.

"Meanwhile" she drawled "I had to stop at the girls bathroom which is not a crime given the Slytherin dorms are miles from the library. I was about to wash my hands when this idiot walks in and removes the sinks from my use. I was gonna clear out but he got in my way and a fell right into this absolutely filthy hole in the ground. I figured following him was better then sitting and waiting for a dirty great snake to do me in."

"Right, Mr Potter I do not appreciate you dragging my niece into your reckless, hero playing schemes" Mr Malfoy snarled "And please explain to me how you know my house elf"

"I called him once here at Hogwarts to ask Aunt Cissa for something and Scar-head was with me. Back when we were friends" she spat the last word like it was poison in her mouth.

"So we went and found Ginny, and I fought a basilisk and then destroyed the diary that Voldemort had been possessing Ginny with" Harry concluded as he placed the diary on the desk. Dumbledore picked it up and examined it with a frown. Then he said

"Minerva, I think you should write to Azkaban and request Hagrid's immediate release. Also locate Gilderoy." McGonagal nodded and swept out of the office. "Mr Weasley" Dumbledore turned to Ron "I think you can return to the common room and inform your brothers of Miss Weasley's safe return" Ron also left.

"I will be going then" Mr Malfoy scowled "Celeste, you look disgrace, I suggest you go clean yourself up, I'm sure Draco is worried. I am glad you are safe my dear" he opened the door and kicked Dobby out. Celeste went to follow him, leaving only Harry, Dumbledore, Ginny and her parents in the room.

"Mr and Mrs Weasley, perhaps you should take Ginny up to the Hospital Wing. She needs calming down. Don't worry, I understand she was possessed by Voldemort and I will not hold her actions this year against her" Dumbledore said with a kind smile. The Weasley family left and Harry stood awkwardly holding the sword watching Fawkes who sat on the headmasters shoulder.

Dumbledore sat down and pressed his fingertips together, watching him over them in a grandfatherly way. Harry eyed him wearily. He may not have been as defensive, lonely and as plain messed up as Celeste was, but years in care with no one looking out for him had made him careful of who he trusted. He trusted Hermione, he trusted her parents, but he wasn't sure about Dumbledore. He seemed nice enough and Harry felt he probably meant well, but he was manipulative as well, even if it was in his best interest.

"So Harry," he said with the twinkle in his eye "I am very impressed, and I am sure you want to go and clean up so I shan't keep you for long. One thing makes me curious. How did you destroy this?" He nudged the burnt diary across the desk.

"Fire" Harry said, hoping Dumbledore would leave it at that.

"I see" the old man frowned "Only, the kind of fire you would have had to have used to destroy this particular item... Let's just say I would be very surprised if you managed it"

"With all due respect sir, what exactly are you implying?" Harry said with an edge of acid in his voice.

"That perhaps Miss LeStrange is not quite as prepared to see you dead as it may first appear" Dumbledore raised his eyebrows suggestively. Harry took a deep breath.

"I don't know what your talking about" he lied stiffly "LeStrange doesn't care whether or not I live or die anymore then I do her"

Dumbledore sighed. "Very well then, I suppose you had better go and join the feast. Miss granger should be awake by now. But remember what I told you last Christmas, it is far safer for you both as enemies"

Harry nodded curtly and then left the office.

* * *

><p><strong>Please Review! It really encourages me to hear your thoughts, even if it's just one word.<strong>


	24. Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**Chapter 23**

Harry and Hermione pushed their trollies through the crowds on platform 9&3/4, heading for the end of the scarlet steam engine. It took a while since it was five minutes till the Hogwarts Express left and the platform was completely packed with parents and students in a state of panic. They finally hauled their trunks and pets onto the train and lugged them to the end carriage. Harry's friend Ron and his little sister Ginny were already their, bickering over sandwiches or something equally pointless.

"Hey guys" Harry said, sitting next to Ron as the train pulled out of the station. Hermione sat down opposite him and pulled out the standard book of spells grade 3. "How was your summer?"

"It was great!" Ron said enthusiastically "Dad won this draw at the Ministry and we went to see Bill in Egypt!" The next ten minutes was spent listening to Ron and Ginny go on and on about their trip. Harry nodded and asked the odd question but his mind was somewhere else.

His summer had been fine. He'd spent two weeks at Gateshead with Celeste before they went their separate ways, him to the Granger's, her to the Malfoy's. They exchanged a few letters but last Harry had heard she was going to Spain with her aunt and cousin during August. It had been a month and a half since he had last seen her.

"Did you hear?" Ron interrupted his train of thought "Sirius Black escaped from Azkaban!"

"That's impossible!" Hermione looked up from her book in horror "No one has ever escaped from Azkaban. And Sirius Black is one of their most secure prisoners!"

Ron shrugged "it's all over the news. Even the muggle media I heard. They are desperate to catch him. He's mad and out to get someone"

"Who?" Harry asked. Ron shrugged again. Hermione looked at Harry in fear, but when Harry turned her way she immediately looked down, her cheeks turning pink.

"What classes are you two taking?" Hermione asked to change the subject "I couldn't decide, so I'm taking all of them."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. "Care of Magical Creatures and Divination." Harry said and Ron nodded, indicating he was doing the same. The four chatted for a bit, telling Ginny what to expect in her classes this year and musing over what was in store for them. Eventually the conversation turned to what had been playing on Harry's mind for the last few weeks.

"You are so lucky getting to go to Hogsmeade." Ginny said enviously. Hermione launched into a very long speech about the historical and cultural aspects of the village and Harry tuned out, having heard it all a few weeks previously when the slips had come in the post.

"Did you get your slip signed?" Ron asked him interrupting Hermione and earning a glare.

"It's complicated really" Harry sighed "I live in authoritative care, so the council is my guardian. I got my slip after I left Gateshead for the summer so Hermione's dad signed it for me, but I dunno if I'll be aloud to go"

"Of course you will" Hermione smiled.

"You've got to!" Ron said "Everyone does. Doesn't LeStrange have the same problem?"

"Yeah but the Malfoy's will sort it for her" Harry said bitterly.

Ron smiled. "Then they'll have to accept yours as well. We gotta go to Honeydukes and Zonkos!" He then started on his own monologue on pranks and sweets while the rain beat down on the windows and the roof.

Several hours later, long after the food trolley came around Ron stood up and stretched. "I'm going to find Fred and George. You coming?" He asked Harry who shook his head.

"Nah. I'm good here. I'm starving and walking won't make it better" he said. Ron laughed while Hermione tutted. He slid the carriage door open and stepped out, crashing headlong into someone standing outside.

"Watch it LeStrange!" He snarled, getting to his feet "what are you doing up here anyways?"

"Well Weasel, I came to hang out with Potter and the mudblood of course" Celeste drawled sarcastically before snapping impatiently "I need to use the bathroom of course you idiot!"

Ron couldn't think of anything to say back so he stormed past. Once he was gone Celeste slid open the compartment door and stepped inside. She grinned at the trio and said "Hi guys!"

The girls smiled and greeted her back while trying not to look her in the eye, but Harry could only stare. In the month and a half they'd been apart Celeste had done a lot of growing up. At thirteen she had a proper chest and nice figure, with long legs and curves. She'd lost all the puppy fat (not that the pathetic portions at Gateshead had given her much anyway) and was now slim and fit. She'd always been pretty, but as she entered her teens Celeste was becoming properly attractive in a slightly creepy way. Her hair was almost midnight black, the dark brown only visible in the right light, and was properly cut and curled now. Her amber eyes shone with full dementedness from under her thick eyelashes. Her smile was genuine, but still creepy. She'd also swapped the expensive dresses for a short black denim shirt and black tank top with leather jacket. It had always been Celeste's sort of look, but seeing her like this now completely astounded Harry. He'd grown up with this girl, and had always seen her as his family and loyal sister. But looking at her now stirred some strange feeling inside him.

"Hey Psycho" he finally managed to say "How was Spain?"

Celeste shrugged "it was good. I can't stay for long, my friends think I'm in the bathroom. I only stopped by cuz I haven't seen you lot for ages"

Before they could reply however the train pulled to a stop. Celeste frowned and glanced at her watch. "We can't be there yet" she said. Ginny peered out of the window to see why they'd stopped, but the rain was too heavy and the window started to mist over. Suddenly the room became very cold, and the most awful feeling swept over Harry. It was like he would never be happy again. He looked around, and saw that Hermione and Ginny looked the way he felt. Only Celeste looked fine, but she glanced around trying to figure out why it was so cold.

Then the compartment door slid open to reveal a cloaked, floating figure. It was like Harry was full of ice. He heard Celeste say something, but he couldn't make out what it was over the roaring in his ears. Then a woman scream his name and he fell to the floor, unconscious.

Celeste stared at the creature in curiosity. She felt fine, just freezing cold, as if she was stood outside in the snow wearing this outfit. The girls and Harry didn't look ok though, all of them looking as if all the happiness had gone from the world. She stood up and faced the creature.

"Get lost" she said "Whatever you want you won't get it here." The thing leaned towards her and the anger boiled up inside her. "Don't make me throw you out!" She warned. It still didn't back down, making her even angrier. She felt the magic rush through her blood and used all her willpower to reign it in. She couldn't lose control, she couldn't be dark by accident. However as the thing itched closer she felt it slipping away. She saw a tall man appear in the doorway behind it, and thought it would be ok. Then Harry collapsed to the floor in dead faint and Celeste's final shred of concentration snapped. She was thrown backwards into the window with the force of the dark magic that came out of her. It carried the creature back and out into the corridor, out of the train completely. Celeste felt the power surge out of her in a 100m radius and her legs buckled. As the curse faded all she could think was sheer amazement and anger at herself.

* * *

><p>Remus Lupin had been asleep in the next carriage when the dementor had woken him up. He had decided to go and get rid of the one next door, since he could feel its miserable presence. However as he appeared behind it it was approaching a girl in the compartment, and two seconds later burst of energy blasted the dementors off the train. After he'd gotten over what he'd just witnessed he stepped into the compartment and was greeted with four thoroughly shaken up children. Two girls, a brunette and a ginger, clutched each other in relief and had tears running down their cheeks. They seemed ok, just affected in the usual way. A boy lay unconscious on the floor, his glasses askew but otherwise clearly James and Lily's son, Harry Potter. The fourth girl had her back against the window and back wall and was crouched down shaking. Her black curls covered her face and it sounded like she was trying not to hyperventilate.<p>

"What happened?" He asked them all. The girl stood up straight and pushed her hair back. Lupin did a double take when he saw her face and he had to resist the urge to kill her there and then. Of course, he reminded himself, he couldn't hold Bellatrix LeStrange's daughter to her mothers crimes. Still, the psychotic look in the girls eyes made it nearly impossible not to hate her.

"What was that thing?" She asked. The shaking in her voice reassured Lupin slightly. She was a scared 13 year old, same as the others.

"A dementor, the guards at Azkaban." He said, crouching beside Harry. Then he couldn't resist asking out of curiosity, "Didn't you know that?" Her parents were locked up there after all. She shook her head.

"I grew up in a Muggle orphanage" she said. This made Lupin feel much better. As someone who had been looked down on for what he was, even though he couldn't help it, he understood she probably wasn't all she appeared to be. However the craziness was very real, he couldn't ignore that.

"You did it again" Hermione's voice broke the silence "it's getting stronger"

The LeStrange girl nodded "I can control it whenever I want, but I can't always hold it back." She ran her hands over her clothes, smoothing them out. Then she said "I have to go. Draco will be worried."

She left the carriage as Harry came round, leaving Lupin full of questions.

* * *

><p>The year proved to be an interesting one. Hagrid taught Care of Magical Creatures and the Hippogriff they were showed in the first lesson attacked Draco. Celeste was worried about him of course, but admitted it had been his own stupid fault. However when Lucius Malfoy filed a dangerous animal complaint she did nothing to stop him. In their Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson they faced a bogart and Harry was disappointed Lupin didn't give him a chance to face it. He also discovered that Sirius Black was after him which was a bit of a shock, needless to say. There was an attack on the Gryffindor tower at Halloween, and after that Professor McGonagal said he definitely couldn't go to Hogsmeade. Ron and Hermione started another pointless war over her cat and his rat which reached a boiling point at Christmas when Hermione got Harry's brand new Firebolt confiscated.<p>

Harry was also having his own problems with his feelings. He was worried about the dementors of course, but his main problem was Celeste. He knew part of it was just hormones, the rush he got when she was around, but there was more then that. He had always been annoyed at how close Draco and Celeste were, but this year Malfoy wasn't the problem. It was Blaise Zabini. Harry knew that the two had always been close, but now he felt the burning envy every time he saw them together. It drove him mad to see Celeste cling to his arm, or for him to pick her up and spin her around. He didn't know why, he'd always thought of Celeste as a sister and he didn't love her in that way, did he?

* * *

><p>Celeste was making her own discoveries. She had to pretend otherwise in front of her friends, but she really liked Professor Lupin. He was weary of her, watching her carefully and she knew he was making comparisons in his head, but he didn't treat her with the same fear and disgust other teachers seemed to. He didn't let her face the bogart, or comment on the extreme levels of magic she often showed in lessons but he called her back after class one day.<p>

"You know, if your not careful you will end up killing someone trying to stun them with that level of uncontrolled magic." He said bluntly once the classroom had emptied.

Celeste didn't usually have the time to be anything more then civil towards her Professors, and she especially didn't confined in them so she was wandering what was wrong with her when she said "I will end up killing someone full stop if I'm not careful"

Lupin watched her as she said this. A strange smile tugged at her lips, and her eyes flashed with a mixture of fear and pride. It made him sick, seeing how twisted this girl was just because of who her parents were. But there was something else as well, hidden in her eyes. A wild sort of ferocity mixed with loneliness that came from growing up without love. Only it faded whenever she looked at Harry, so Lupin assumed whatever was going on between them was unfinished. He didn't want to help Celeste LeStrange, but nor did he want to hate her for who her family was.

"I'm not sure what that means, nor do I want to know" he said carefully "But you should understand that despite the fact people judge you on your heritage, you are also accountable for your own actions." He stared at her for a few minutes, looking for some kind of reaction, but she just stared steadily back. After a while he sighed and said "You may go."

Celeste left the room contemplating this.

* * *

><p>The Great Hall was packed on Saturday morning before the Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw game. Celeste and Daphne came up from the common room to find Draco, Crabbe and Goyle cracking up at something.<p>

"What's so funny?" Daphne asked as they sat down opposite them at the Slytherin table. Draco looked around to check if anyone was listening, before leaning in and saying "Since Potter's waving his knew toy around, today at the match we're going to get dressed up as dementors and hope he falls off again"

Celeste forced herself to laugh. Draco calmed himself down eventually and stood up. "I'm going to go look at Potter's broom, you coming Cel?"

Celeste looked pointedly down at her toast. "I'm eating. You go, but don't blame me if he comes back with some infuriatingly witty comment. He knows my tricks remember?" She said.

Draco smiled fleetingly. "Have faith cousin. So do I, remember?" He said before he sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. Three minutes later Draco stormed out of the hall red faced and scowling. Celeste tutted.

"He never learns" she said, before turning to discuss the Transfiguration homework with Daphne.

* * *

><p>Celeste stood in the Slytherin stands at the Quidditch match, routing for Ravenclaw alongside Pansy and Daphne. It was quite an exciting game, Harry's Firebolt performing beautifully, but Celeste was too busy worrying about the trick Draco was going to play to really enjoy herself. She didn't realise she was chewing her lip or making it obvious until Pansy nudged her.<p>

"Your worrying about this prank, aren't you?" She said with raised eyebrows "Why? It'll be hilarious if he falls of his broom again."

"Yeah" Celeste faked a smile "I'm just worried about all the points my idiot cousin is going to lose us when he gets caught"

Pansy shrugged "Maybe he won't get caught" she said optimistically. Celeste laughed.

"Please. He didn't consult me, which means he'll get caught" she said. It didn't matter whether or not her friend really agreed. Pansy slipped her arm through hers and giggled in appreciation anyway, because her parents would never forgive her if she pissed the LeStrange's daughter off.

Later on in the game, the crowd gasped and pointed at the two 'dementors' on the pitch. Celeste fixed her gaze on Harry who turned only for a second, before pulling out his wand and pointing it at the ground while shouting something. Celeste's jaw dropped in astonishment as a large silver creature erupted from the end of Harry's wand and galloped towards Draco and the others, knocking them over and revealing them. In the same minute Harry caught the snitch and the crowd went wild. Celeste sighed and began to fight her way through the cheering students to go meet Draco.

* * *

><p>They wandered into the safer parts of the forbidden forest, not saying anything. Celeste kicked her combat boots through the dirt, covering her stonewashed jeans in dust. Draco was sulking next to her, and his trousers got covered too.<p>

"Oi!" He complained, but it was half hearted. There wasn't much point in getting mad.

"Well, look on the bright side" Celeste said cheerfully "You now have a killer motive to completely slaughter Potter and the other Gryffindorks in the cup final."

Draco smiled at this. "I suppose so. And you were right. Again"

Celeste grinned "I'm always right, face it Drake"

"Except when it comes to Potter" he countered. Celeste scowled at him and he held his hands up in front of him in defence. The two stopped walking and Draco leaned against a tree. Celeste stopped as well, leaning next to him. They said nothing for a bit. Then Draco said "ok, show me something impressive"

Celeste's scowl immediately changed to a wicked smile. Draco bound her magic with a simple spell and took her wand before standing back. Celeste stretched her hand out towards a tree some feet away and focused. She twisted her hand and then the tree went up in flames. They watched it burn out a large section of the forest before she closed her palm and the fire burnt out instantly. She stretched her fingers out slowly and thick black smoke curled around her feet. It consumed the trees and forest floor, the animals living in them screaming as they died. Draco found it funny and fascinating at first, but then Celeste didn't stop. The trees started to die and crash around them and the smoke curled towards the school. The mist blocked out the sun, a vicious wind ripped through the grounds and Draco had no idea what to do.

"Stop it!" He shouted "That's enough!"

Celeste didn't listen, so in one desperate attempt to end this nightmare he did what Harry had done back when she'd gone nuts in their first year. He grabbed her hand and yelled her name in her ear. She didn't stop, but she turned to look at him. Then she raised her hands and as she brought them down everything was still again. Draco was shaking and backing away. Half a year ago she would have gotten scared. Now she was just pissed off.

"What?" She demanded.

"That... Was amazing. But terrifying." Draco managed to stay. Celeste studied him for a bit. Then she looked around and saw the mess she'd made. Burnt and dead trees lay on the ground surrounded by black dust and ash. Dead, tortured animals lay on the forest floor and traces if the black mist hung in the air.

"I did this" was all she said, before she started to laugh. That sick, deranged cackle that her mother would have been proud of.

* * *

><p>Harry was flying around on his Firebolt the next day, loving the feeling it gave him, when he spotted Celeste. She was standing at the astronomy tower, sketching and watching. She shielded her eyes from the sun and looked up at Harry, before beckoning him over to her. He landed next to her, trying to ignore the stirring feeling he got when he looked at her. The tightness in his chest. He felt overwhelmingly happy when he saw the combat boots on her feet.<p>

"Hello scar head" she said cheerfully "well done at the game yesterday"

"Thanks psycho" he grinned, sitting down next to her on the floor.

"What was that spell you cast?" She asked "the one that warded off the er... 'dementors'" she made the quotation marks in the air with her fingers. Harry raised his eyebrows, but didn't comment on her unwillingness to mention her cousins actions.

"It's called a patronus charm. Lupin's been teaching me" Harry told her "he has a bogart, and dementors are my worst fear, so I practice on it"

"Nice..." Celeste said "where?"

"Empty classroom" Harry shrugged "I'm really glad I'm learning. Those dementors don't half make you feel bad do they?" Celeste didn't answer, and Harry felt like he'd said something wrong.

"They don't effect me." Celeste finally said flatly "when they're around, I feel no different. Just cold"

Harry didn't know what to say. Why? It seemed a bit insensitive, but his burning curiosity overpowered his logic and he couldn't stop the question. Celeste sighed, and averted her gaze so that Harry couldn't do his trick of looking into them and knowing how she felt.

"It's not what you'd think. It's not because I'm so miserable that they have nothing to take from me." Celeste said "I don't know what Dumbledore explained to you when he told you about me, but you know I'm a physical change in magical evolution?" Harry nodded and she continued "So, I'm dark. That's what I am. No choice, I just am. And the dementors are my natural ally, so they don't affect me because they feel the darkness and... answer to it so to speak. Same way they wouldn't affect the Dark Lord, they were meant to bow to us, not destroy us"

She said it quite casually and Harry turned the idea over in his mind. It made sense, not that that helped him.

"So, a dementor is your worst fear?" Celeste said after a few minutes silence. Harry managed a smile.

"Yep, though Lupin thought it was Voldemort so that's why he wouldn't let me face it in class. Might stir some panic" he said.

"You know..." Celeste said "I'd love to see what my worst fear is. I used to think it was myself but lately... Never mind"

"What?" Harry asked. She bit her lip.

"Well..." Celeste said "I never had a problem when I did evil things when I was younger. I always though it was funny, watching people suffer. I get a kick out of it, you know?"

"That's not normal" Harry said "your sick in the head, you know that don't you?"

"Please I take pride in it" Celeste grinned, and Harry couldn't help but smile back. "Anyway" Celeste continued "I always loved it, but when I found out that there was reasoning behind it, that I wasn't dark by choice I was just... dark, I was determined to control it. I was terrified of myself and what I could do. But now?"

"Your accepting it?"

"I guess" she shrugged "it's who I am, I can't change that. But it does make me wonder."

"About what?" Harry asked.

"My parents" she said softly "they're like me. Twisted, evil. Sometimes I think myself incapable of love so I wonder if they're the same"

"Sometimes?" Harry asked casually, even though his heart was racing in his chest.

"There are things, things that make me change my mind. I love you Harry Potter. More than anything, but we never see each other. You have a role and I have a role and they both lead in opposite directions. The future... It's uncertain" she said. Harry listened to her and figured this was as good a time as any to voice what he knew was true.

"You're choosing darkness." He sighed "Just like I'm choosing light. You want to bring him back"

"We ruined each others lives Harry, and we were only toddlers." Celeste said "the darkness left you orphaned and your defeating of the dark lord left me alone. The only good thing was we found each other but you've lived in an orphanage long enough to know the answer to the question would you give up what you have now for the life you should have led?"

Harry didn't say anything. Everything she said was true, he'd thought it all himself.

"So where do we stand?" He asked.

"This is where we stand." Celeste said without a shred of doubt. "The psycho and the hero, at the top of an astronomy tower, no idea where they're heading and completely unsure of themselves."

"Not a great image is it?" Harry said half jokingly. Celeste laughed once and shook her head.

"How do you see it?" She asked him. He shrugged.

"Bout the same. Love prevails all right?"

"Harry I'm close. I'm close to achieving my goal" Celeste said "A goal that ultimately means bad news for you. And I don't think I'll tell you when I do, just the same as you wouldn't tell me if the roles were reversed."

"Your telling me now" he prompted.

"But we have to stop. I could tell you I don't have proper control over my mind because the darkness makes me see it one way but I've come to realise, the darkness is me. This is who I am Harry and I can't change that."

"I love you" Harry said simply.

"I love you too" Celeste replied "I just don't know how long that's going to work. How long that can balance out the equation."

"I know." Harry replied "But if we do go to war and I had to face you... I don't think there's a part of me that could ever even consider killing you."

"Me too" Celeste murmured "and that will be our downfall"

"But we can't know yet" he said, quoting her from their first year.

"Something's coming. Storm is brewing" she muttered darkly.

"So let's enjoy the calm. The calm before the storm." Harry suggested. Celeste sighed and rested her head in his shoulder. The two sat there together, unlike they had been in a long time.

They didn't get a chance to speak properly again until summer.

**So that's the third year. The rest of it would play out as it did in the book. Please, please review!**


	25. Chapter 24

**Ok I'm really sorry it's been so long. I have excuses, but the main reason was I was suffering from a bit of a writers block. I'm back now and should be updating more regularly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Draco stepped into the doorway of the drawing room in Malfoy Manor, looking around for his cousin. Celeste stood by the window, looking over the grounds as the sun set. Her silky black curls stood out fantastically against the blazing orange light. Her heals were sandals and her toes were pressed right against the glass that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. She wore a short loose black skirt and a really nice green silk shirt, but Draco knew she was uncomfortable. His mother had banned her combat boots from the manor and they both knew how disapproving his parents were of her rough Muggle way of dressing. It wasn't very sophisticated, but at least Celeste's ripped jeans and leather jackets suited her.

"Cel" he said softly from the doorway, stepping fully into the drawing room and closing the large door. "Father just told me. He's been invited by the Minister himself to watch the Quidditch World Cup from the top box"

Celeste turned and stared at him. He would never of course admit it to her, but he found her ice cold psychotic gaze rather unnerving. She had a demented look in her eye that screamed evil. Both his parents had commented on how very like Bellatrix Celeste was. Her eyes were still Rodolphus's, but she had the full dark lips and heavy lids, the same jaw line, same hair. Narcissa had said that the scariest thing was the craziness Celeste carried, the same sick love of pain and torture of others. Only Draco wasn't always so sure. Yes she did enjoy that, but most of her insane personality came from being alone all her life. It was what made him feel so guilty whenever he looked at her, and what made him so angry whenever he saw her look at Harry Potter. Angry that he had been the one to earn her absolute trust. He wasn't stupid, he knew that Celeste LeStrange and Harry Potter could never hate each other.

Celeste rolled her eyes. "Great. I was worried I'd have to spend the weekend in a tent to watch the match from the second best seats in the arena" she drawled sarcastically "We were always guaranteed the best seats Drake"

Draco sat down on the nearest piece of furniture and Celeste stepped across to join him. The sound of parchment folding drew his attention to the letter in her hand. "C'mon, Quidditch is amazing. And it's Ireland versus Bulgaria so it's going to be spectacular." He said "And we get to meet a load of important people"

Celeste scowled at the prospect "Important people who will demand what I am doing there. No matter how respected my family name, all they see is the woman doomed to rot in Azkaban and wonder why I am not doing the same" she threw herself very inelegantly down beside him "I don't exactly promote your families status when we all go out"

"Ahh" Draco brushed it off "we love you, it doesn't make a difference" Celeste cocked her head to one side and seemed to consider this prospect. He waited for a response, but apparently she was either incapable of love or just too messed up to ever admit it. "What's that?" He eventually asked with a frown, nodding at the letter. Her expression darkened.

"Oh yes. I have a thing tonight and I need you to cover for me" she said smoothly, as if he would just accept that no questions asked.

He laughed "What sort of thing? It doesn't involve Blaise does it?" He pulled a face and a tried to shake the image of Celeste and Blaise kissing on the train home at the end of third year.

"What?" She frowned "No, this is something else. But you can't ask me what it is, and you mustn't tell Aunt Cissa and Uncle Lucius that I'm going out. Can I trust you Drake?" She gave him a pointed look and he realised he would never win this argument so he nodded reluctantly. "Thank You."

"How are you going to go anywhere?" He asked her. "Father bound our magic for the holidays."

Celeste gave her signature crazy smile as she headed out the door. "That's not a problem for me is it?" She said, tossing the letter into the empty fireplace. The flames that she conjured burned the parchment to cinder before he could even blink.

Celeste knew she was powerful. Fear flashed in people's eyes as she passed. She could make cities crumble at the flick of her wrist. The Slytherin's gave her whatever she wanted. Even the teachers didn't cross her.

This was the first time she actually felt powerful. Standing in this graveyard in the dark, with the wind howling and creatures lurking in the shadows. Once upon a time Celeste LeStrange would have gritted her teeth, stuck out her chin and told herself she wasn't afraid. The scrappy, wild little girl would have said it over and over to convince herself, while her slender fingers entwined with those of the boy who was always by her side. Harry has her back, Harry made her brave. She didn't have him now. She didn't have to be brave. Courage wasn't necessary when you had enough power to destroy anything that might hurt you. She still missed him. She missed the comfort of her best friend. The only one she could trust to have her back. Celeste wanted him by her side, only here she was completely and utterly betraying him.

She didn't think much of Barty Crouch Jr. He had probably once been handsome, but the years in Azkaban and confinement to his home had worn it away. He was thin and his hair was long and black. He wore a strange suit and had an awful habit of sticking his tongue out the corner of his mouth.

"So, you are obviously Bellatrix's daughter." He said, looking her up and down "Bit... wild looking aren't you?"

Celeste raised her eyebrows at him. "Does it matter?" She snapped "I'm here to help you."

"You said so in your letter" Crouch looked rather bored "What is a girl like you doing helping the Dark Lord?"

"My parents are his most loyal, and I intend to follow their lead." Celeste snarled "Now anyway, please get to the point!"

He seemed slightly taken aback by her fierceness. "Right" he coughed "Well, we have located an ancient magic that will restore the Dark Lord to his full power. It requires the blood of an enemy, which he has plenty of, but the spell will be most effective with the blood of Harry Potter. I will use polyjuice potion and pose as this years defence against the dark arts teacher, so I can enter him in the Triwizard Tournament."

Celeste's heart began to race. There had to be some way of giving Harry a chance. An idea formed in her head. "Fine. I will help you from my place, but remember that I'm a Slytherin and you're a dark wizard catcher!"

She and Crouch made some arrangements, before he headed back to Riddle manor and she went home. The minute she was back in the safety of her bedroom she raced to the library and began to scour the shelves for books. Yes she would be loyal, yes she would make her parents proud, yes she would be everything she was born to become and more. But she was still giving Harry his chance.

"Besides" she whispered to herself in the darkness as she looked at the complex spell books "what fun is a war if no one fights back?"

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